A member of Iran’s parliament, Majles, says that the Board of Directors of the legislative body has so far received about 100 requests for forming parliamentary factions.
Alireza Salimi, who is also a member of the parliament's presidium, added that while the number of requests is increasing, some lawmakers have even proposed launching a "garlic and lentil" parliamentary caucus.
Insisting that such proposals harm the "dignity" of Majles, Salimi disclosed that setting up parliamentary factions is on hold until a "suitable mechanism" is found for their formation.
Meanwhile, Salimi has accused some of the Islamic Republic ministries of having a role in proposing parliamentary factions.
Through such proposals, some ministries are trying to establish their influence in Majles and direct the minds of the legislators.
The current Majles, overwhelmingly dominated by the so-called fundamentalists, was inaugurated on May 27, 2020.
According to a 2011 parliamentary resolution, at least eight parliament members can form factions for political, professional or trade union affairs. Each MP can be a member of a maximum of three factions. Based on the same resolution, the parliament's presidium is in charge of deciding on the number of factions, setting a framework for their activities, and paving the way for their operation.
According to Tabnak website, the previous parliament had more than sixty political and non-political factions, including Environmental, Tourism and Handicrafts, Sports and Youth, Production, Employment and clergy affairs.