Iranian reformists have written to Iran’s Supreme Leader to discuss the possibility of their participation in the 2013 presidential election.
ISNA reported on Sunday March 3 that Mohammad Javad Haghshenas, the deputy head of the Reformists Front, referred to the letter when he said: “In this letter, we have discussed the issues surrounding the 2013 election and the possibility of party participation.”
He stressed that the head of two other reformists groups have joined with him to call for an opportunity to meet with the Supreme Leader in person to discuss the issue and find out his views on the matter.
In February, reformists took their first step toward open talks with the leader. The reformists have been severely sidelined since the 2009 election, and their two candidates, MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, have been under house arrest since February 2011 for challenging the election outcome and the victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Two top reformist organizations, the Islamic Iran Participation Front and the Mujahedin of the Islamic Revolution, have been outlawed as a consequence of the widespread election protests.
Reformists have repeatedly called for the release of political prisoners, including Karroubi, Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, who have been under house arrest without any formal charges being brought against them.
Haghshenas told ISNA that the chief potential reformist candidate is former president Mohammad Khatami, but he added that Khatami has not committed to running in the coming election.
The reformists have questioned the legitimacy of the election and challenged the Guardian Council’s criteria for disqualifying candidates.
