The pro-reform speaker of the Iranian parliament said Saturday he would refuse to accept the mass resignation by 120 reformist deputies, arguing that such a move would paralyse the workings of the incumbent house.
"A mass resignation cannot be accepted because it would deprive the parliament of the quorum necessary to go ahead with formal debates," Mehdi Karoubi was quoted as saying by the official news agency IRNA.
Earlier this month, 120 reformist members of the 290-seat Majlis handed in their resignations to Karoubi to protest over the mass disqualification of pro-refom candidates from next Friday's parliament elections by powerful hard-liners.
Karoubi reasoned that this would strip the Majlis of its required two-thirds quorum.
"The procedural by-law does not allow for the acceptance of such a massive resignation. Accepting the resignations would mean the quorum for holding formal debates will not be met. So it is out of question," he said.
"The parliament should work until May 26 and the resignations will not be accepted," he added, noting that legislation such as the budget for the new Iranian year, beginning on March 20, still needed to be passed.
Nevertheless, Karoubi - a mid-ranking cleric close to embattled President Mohammad Khatami - did lash out at the blacklisting of thousands of candidates by the Guardians Council, a conservative-controlled unelected political watchdog.
"Elections need political parties with different attitudes. Democratic elections need competition. Otherwise, society will become void of joy and a lively atmosphere," he was quoted as saying.
Some 80 sitting MPs - among them some of Iran's best-known politicians - were among those whose candidacies were rejected by the Guardians Council in a move that ignited one of the most serious political crises in the Islamic republic's history.
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