The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has rejected recent statements by a Tehran MP who says the guards interfered in the parliamentary election process, adding that such claims could be subject to prosecution.
Earlier today, conservative MP Ali Motahari criticized the alleged efforts by the Revolutionary Guards to sway voters to their preferred candidates during the parliamentary elections.
Motahari said the interference of the Revolutionary Guards, which by law is forbidden from getting involved in politics, was one of the chief weaknesses of the March elections.
He called the IRGC’s alleged actions a “scourge” on the Revolution’s future, noting that they completely contradict the word of the Islamic Republic’s late leader, Ayatollah Khomeini.
Motahari said: “According to [Imam Khomeini’s] remarks, the responsibility of the Guards is to protect the ideals of the Islamic Revolution and not to interfere in politics.”
A spokesman for the Revolutionary Guards, Ramazan Sharif, emphasized that following each election, a number of groups or individuals customarily accuse the Guards of interference in the voting process. He maintained that the Revolutionary Guards Corps has always refrained from taking sides in the elections.
He added that the IRGC reserves the right to seek prosecution of its accusers.
A group of senior reformist figures also accused the IRGC of direct involvement in the presidential elections of 2009, which they said made the outcome invalid. Their criticism was disregarded by the authorities and won them further persecution.
