‘Ahmadinejad, allies favored Larijani as speaker in ongoing Majlis’

TEHRAN, April 23 (MNA) – Secretary general of the Society of Devotees of the Islamic Revolution said that President Ahmadinejad and his allies put much effort into getting Ali Larijani as the speaker of the ongoing parliament (the sitting parliament) since they thought Larijani could empower the parliament and improve interaction between the government and Majlis. “But after three months, those who worked hard for the headship of Mr. Larijani changed their minds. In political arena we need to have strong reasons to put the right people in appointed positions in order not to change mind after a few months”, Hossein Fadaei when asked about the leadership of the next parliament (9th parliament) which will start on May 27. The Islamic Revolution Resistance Front, the main rival to the mainstream United Front of Principlists in parliamentary election, has said it favors Gholam Ali Haddad Adel as the speaker of the 9th parliament. Haddad Adel held the post of parliament speaker in the 7th parliament (2004-2008). He gained a parliamentary seat in the first round of election on March 2 from the Tehran constituency. Fadaei, a sitting lawmaker who is also seeking a seat in the runoff election on May 4, says he prefers Haddad Adel over Larijani who was reelected from the Qom constituency. “I certainly prefer the headship of Mr. Haddad Adel to the present headship of Mr. Ali Larijani. This does not mean we negate others but I believe Mr. Haddad Adel was not impressed by different parties and politics. He acted based on collective wisdom and was transparent,” Fadaei stated. Fadaei, a sitting MP, who had attended a weekly meeting of Ansar Hezbollah claimed the 7th Majlis achieved much which is not comparable with the 8th Majlis. He said the former brought tranquility to the society and minimized the gap between the government and the parliament. He also said members of the resistance front are looking for a potential speaker of Majlis among themselves and if they cannot find a qualified candidate, Mr. Haddad Adel remains a strong candidate. The last day of the current Majlis is May 23. 130 candidates are competing for the remaining 65 seats in the runoff election.