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Will Green Movement haunt Iran’s upcoming elections?

The body that vets candidates in Iran says it will review statements made by candidates as part of the contested 2009 elections.
A supporter of Iran's former Prime Minister Mirhossein Mousavi, who is a candidate in the upcoming presidential elections, gestures during a rally in Tehran on the last day of campaigning June 10, 2009. Green is the campaign colour of Mousavi. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (IRAN POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR24IVK

The registration process for the February 2016 parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections has come to end with a record number of candidates: Nearly 12,000 individuals registered to compete for a seat in the 290-member parliament. It will be the job of the conservative Guardian Council to determine which candidates pass through their filters and ultimately will be allowed to run. While the council is not obligated to specify publicly why the candidates are qualified or disqualified, it seems the 2009 presidential elections will be a central factor in their decision-making process.

Guardian Council spokesman Nejatollah Ebrahimian told Tasnim News Agency on Dec. 27 that the council will review all the comments and actions of the candidates during 2009 postelection protests. He said that the behavior of the candidates should not have been such that it could be construed that they participated in the illegal activities during 2009, adding they should have “clear and specific lines drawn with the sedition of 2009.”

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