[R-G] Ahmadinejad to Face a Vote of Confidence?

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

Now, finally good news for Greens in Iran.  Just as Mohammad Mossadegh
had trouble lining up and maintaining the support of the right (e.g.,
Kashani) and the left (e.g., Tudeh) of Iranian republicanism, so does
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  Some things never change in Iran.  BTW, do you
know that Parivash Fatemi, the widow of Hossein Fatemi, who served as
Mossadegh's Foreign Minister and was the driving force behind his oil
nationalization program, says that HosseinFatemi's aspirations were
fulfilled in the ninth government of the Islamic Republic of Iran,
characterizing Ahmadinejad as a man of "obvious courage and daring,"
whose love of his country and people makes him the second coming of
Fatemi (cf. <http://www.khabarnevis.com/criticviwe/post_198.html>)? --
Yoshie

<http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=101757&sectionid=351020101>
Ahmadinejad throws resignation out as Majlis weighs in
Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:05:44 GMT

Much of the controversy emerged after President Ahmadinejad chose
Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei as his vice president. The president has since
reversed his decision but criticism over the issue continues.

As pressure piles up on the Iranian president to return to parliament
and obtain a vote of confidence for his Cabinet, more than 200 Iranian
lawmakers add voice to the matter by questioning his approach toward
domestic politics.

The majority of the 290 lawmakers, riled up over what they see as the
president having excessively delayed the reversal of his first deputy
choice despite the direct intervention of Leader of the Islamic
Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, required on Monday that
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "rectify his conduct".

"In the letter, we once again voiced our support for the Ahmadinejad
administration but also called on the president to fully and promptly
comply with the Leader's instructions," Mousa al-Reza Servati, a
member of the Principlist faction in parliament, told ILNA.

The letter comes against the backdrop of controversy sparked by the
appointment of Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei -- who has caused political
outrage by suggesting that Iran is a "friend of the Israeli people" --
as the first vice president.

In a handwritten note, sent to the office of the president on July 18
and made public on Friday, the Leader had ordered Ahmadinejad to
reverse his decision.

"The appointment of Mr. Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei as presidential deputy
is contrary to your interests and that of the government and is a
cause of division and frustration among your supporters. It is
necessary for this appointment to be declared null and void," reads
the note by the Leader.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution has the final say in all matters
of the state.

Following the intervention, the president's reluctance to reverse the
decision was called into question even by his own ministers. As a sign
of protest, three of the ministers -- Intelligence Minister
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister
Mohammad-Hassan Saffar-Harandi and Labor Minister Mohammad Jahromi --
walked out of a Cabinet meeting on Thursday.

Although news broke out that the Ahmadinejad administration had sacked
the ministers, the government moved to clarify the issue after a
senior member of parliament suggested that the administration had lost
its legitimacy with the measure as it had removed too many Cabinet
members during the first Ahmadinejad tenure.

Only the intelligence minister has been removed, said an official
working for the presidential office.

The dismissal has intensified pressures on Ahmadinejad by parliament
members who contend that the ninth government is obliged to seek a new
vote of confidence in its remaining 7 days in office.

According to parliament Vice Speaker Mohammad-Reza Bahonar, all
Cabinet sessions of the current government are 'illegal' until the
official second-term inauguration of the president.

Furthering the pressure on the president was an announcement by the
incumbent culture and Islamic guidance minister that despite the
denial, he had handed in his resignation.

Ahmadinejad has so far denied permission for the resignation.

According to Article 136 of the Constitution, an administration is
required to seek a fresh vote of confidence from parliament if half of
its Cabinet members are replaced.

The new letter sent by nearly 200 lawmakers to the president is
official confirmation that Ahmadinejad failed to respond to the order
by Ayatollah Khamenei as swiftly as he should have.

Servati touched on the issue but refrained from ruling out the
possibility of the president having to face a vote of confidence
before he is sworn in on August 5 for a second term.

"Members of parliament will see into the matter tomorrow in the open
parliament session," said the member of Majlis National Security and
Foreign Policy Commission.

MI/AA