The leader of women’s faction in the Iranian parliament (Majles) has announced she will not run for a seat in the upcoming elections as protest to the bloody suppression of protests in November.
Parvaneh Salahshouri, 54, representing Tehran districts says she also objects to policies that restrict the parliament's power and authority.
"Regarding the structures that restrict Majles' powers, ignoring people's demands, and inappropriate measures for vetting parliament nominees, as well as what happened in mid-November, I have decided not to run for a seat in February," Ms. Salahshouri reiterated in a statement, adding, "I came to that decision despite all my love for the people that I am indebted to. I could not convince my conscience to run again."
Ms. Salahshouri who was elected four years ago as Tehran's MP with 1,198,760 votes, is a pro-reform politician with a leftist economic orientation.
Notorious for not mincing her words, Salahshouri had earlier lambasted the Islamic Republic authorities for brutally suppressing mass protests in late December 2017, early January 2018.
During a fiery speech on September 4, 2018, Salahshouri called for a referendum to solve problems regarding foreign policy, state TV, the Guardian Council's intervention in elections, and the Assembly of Experts' supervision of the supreme leader's behavior.
Salahsouri called on "military institutions to return to their garrisons" and demanded support for the underprivileged, putting an end to the house arrest of opposition leaders, releasing political prisoners from jail, and a declaration of amnesty for Iranians living abroad so that they can return home. She also called on the government to put an end to state TV's monopoly by allowing the private sector to operate media networks.
Prior to Ms. Salahshouri's decision, many analysts had maintained that the Council of Guardians, in charge of endorsing or rejecting nominees' qualifications in Iranian elections, would never approve her candidacy again.