All elections held in Iran have been sound: cleric

TEHRAN,Jan.13(MNA) – The leader of this week’s Friday prayers in Tehran has said that all the elections which have been held in Iran over the past 33 years have been sound. “The elections have always been sound, and the country’s people can attest to it,” Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati told worshippers at Tehran University campus on Friday in reference to the Leader’s recent remarks about the presidential election, which is scheduled to be held on June 14. Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Tuesday criticized certain political figures for repeatedly talking about a “free election” and said that it was clear that a free election should be held. Ayatollah Khamenei also criticized certain people for trying to give the impression that the election would not be sound, saying that such remarks would help the hegemonistic powers achieve their goals. In addition, he said that effective mechanisms had been established to ensure that a sound election would be held. Jannati also said that certain political figures and defeated politicians are repeatedly talking about a free election, adding, “In the previous post-election sedition (in 2009), ballot rigging was the code name for the riots, and this time the code name for unrest is a (call for) free election.” Elsewhere in his remarks, Jannati, who is the Guardian Council chairman, said that the qualifications of the candidates that do not meet the requirements will not be approved and these candidates should not expect so. The Guardian Council is tasked with examining the qualifications of candidates and supervising elections.