Mon Jan 12, 7:12 PM ET
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040113/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_elections_9TEHRAN, Iran - A showdown between Iran's hard-liners and liberals deepened Monday as reformist lawmakers barred from upcoming elections threatened to boycott the vote and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei promised to intervene if the crisis is not resolved soon.
For the second day in a row, legislators who were among those barred from the Feb. 20 elections held a sit-in protest in the parliament building. The hard-line Guardian Council disqualified more than 80 lawmakers, all reformists.
"We will continue our sit-in until politically motivated disqualifications are reversed," lawmaker Elaheh Koolaee told The Associated Press. "If it is not reversed, there will be no elections. There is no reason to participate in so-called elections where hard-line thinkers run without any rivals."
The Guardian Council, which comprises 12 members chosen by Khamenei, has disqualified more than 3,000 of the 8,200 people who filed papers to run for the parliament's 290 seats, lawmakers have said. State broadcast media controlled by hard-liners said the candidates were disqualified because they lacked "the necessary legal qualifications."
If they stand, the disqualifications will be an additional blow for the reformers. The reformists have lost popularity because of their perceived failure to deliver on promises of liberalization, and had hoped to get a boost from the elections.
My take: Khatami's reformists have lost massive legitimacy with the people. They haven't been popular since 2001, almost all Student groups have parted with Khatami's reformers and joined Secular groups. One is dubbed the 'Third Force'.
This will be a huge month in Iran.