After months of dispute over whether the president should appear in Parliament for questioning, the administration announced that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will submit to questioning by MPs on March 14.
Parliamentary spokesman Mohsen Kohkan confirmed the date today in a report by the Fars News Agency.
A group of MPs had initiated a motion to question Ahmadinejad on a series of irregularities committed by his administration.
Resistance to the motion came from two factions: Ahmadinejad’s supporters and some of his conservative opponents, who fear he may use the platform to expose scandalous truths about the government.
The irregularities in question include matters such as the failure to provide the budget for expansion of the Tehran Subway system, 11 days of defiance against the order of Ayatollah Khamenei to restore Heydar Moslehi to his position of Intelligence Minister, the disrespectful dismissal of Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, and challenges to the power of Parliament.
Lotfollah Forozandeh, an Ahmadinejad deputy, told the Mehr News Agency last week: “Personally, I do not believe questioning the president is advisable in the current situation. However, the president has announced that he will attend a parliamentary session and answer the inquiries of the representatives.”
He added that due to international concerns, a demonstration of “harmony and unity’ would be in the best interest of the country.
