Iran: Motion To Question Ahmadinejad Back On Track
Iran’s Parliament announced today that the motion to question the president has been officially revived and will be put on the parliamentary agenda.
ILNA reports that Mohammadreza Bahonar, the deputy head of Parliament, announced that the motion now bears 74 signatures, making it eligible for consideration.
The motion to question the president requires the support of a quarter of the house, or 73 MPs.
A previous announcement said a number of MPs had withdrawn their support for the motion but then reconsidered their withdrawal. Another MP supported the motion for the first time, bringing the number of signatures to 74.
Following the official announcement in Parliament today, Ali Motahari announced his return to Parliament. The MP was one of the initiators of this motion and he had resigned his seat in protest when the Presiding Board of Parliament refused to consider questioning the president.
Motahari previously had accused the president’s supporters of pressuring some MPs to withdraw their support for the motion.
Parliament announced that the motion will proceed through the regular legal steps; it will be sent to a parliamentary commission for close examination of its content before being put to a vote.
The motion mentions 10 irregularities on which the president needs to be questioned, such as his alleged refusal to carry out legislation regarding the Tehran subway and his disputes with the Supreme Leader over the reinstatement of Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi.
