Iran slams EU election stance

IRAN: Tehran furiously accused the European Union of unacceptable behaviour and political manipulation on Monday after the bloc issued a statement describing Iranian parliamentary elections as unfair.

“The issuing of this statement by the EU presidency is hasty, has political intentions and is opportunist and unacceptable. It is to be condemned,” foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said in a statement.

The European Union’s Slovenian presidency had said that the disqualification of hundreds of the leading reformist candidates in pre-vote vetting meant that Friday’s election “was neither fair nor free”.

Iran, by contrast, has hailed the “glorious” participation of over 60 percent of the electorate as a message to its enemies that Iranians remain strongly committed to the vision of the Islamic republic.

“It would have been better for the European Union... to have studied the different consequences of the great Iranian nation’s democratic election for Europe to correct its own unfair approaches,” Hosseini said, in the statement quoted by Iranian media.

The disqualifications meant reformists could only field a limited number of candidates and helped ensure conservatives will have around two-thirds of the seats in the parliament.

But reformists still delivered a respectable performance and are expected to slightly increase their current representation of around 40 MPs in the chamber.

Tehran, Monday, AFP