Hardliners have thrown Iran's legislative elections into crisis by disqualifying hundreds of liberal candidates, including more than 80 sitting lawmakers who are allied with the reformist president.
President Mohammad Khatami pledged to fight the move by Iran's Guardian Council, and reformist members of parliament staged a sit-in protest at the legislature. One lawmaker condemned the decision as a "bloodless coup" by Islamic conservatives.
The disqualifications were reported Sunday by the official Islamic Republic News Agency and by Khatami allies, but it was unclear when the council made the decision.
The council, which comprises conservatives picked by Iran's supreme leader, barred more than 80 incumbent lawmakers, all reformists, from seeking another term in next month's parliamentary elections, the news agency said.
In all, about 900 of the 1,700 people who wanted to contest seats in Tehran have been disqualified, members of parliament said.
The disqualified legislators include Mohammad Reza Khatami, the younger brother of the president, and Behzad Nabavi -- both deputy speakers of parliament. Mohammad Reza Khatami leads the Islamic Iran Participation Front, the largest reformist party.
The Guardian Council also disqualified Fatemeh Haqiqatjou and Elaheh Koulaee, two female legislators who have fought for women's rights.
President Khatami vowed Sunday to challenge the disqualifications, saying there would be a "harsh reaction" if legal channels failed to overturn the council's decision.
"It's meaningless that qualification of prominent figures who have worked for the nation for years is not approved," the president told reporters after a Cabinet meeting. "I'm against such disqualifications. There are legal ways to fight."
Lawmaker Mohsen Mirdamadi called the Guardian Council's decision a "bloodless coup," the official IRNA news agency reported.
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