Iran’s parliament has for the third time rejected President Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad’s candidate for minister of oil, putting his political future at risk.
One hundred and thirty nine members of the Majlis (Iran’s parliament) voted against the president’s appointee Mohsin Tasalloti. Seventy seven were in favor, and 38 abstained in yesterday’s vote. This third consecutive rejection – the first one was in August – has created a constitutional crisis, as the Iranian constitution does not allow the absence of a minister for more than three months.
Following the crisis, Speaker of the Majlis Ghulam ‘Ali Jadad ‘Adil called on Iran’s spiritual leader Ayatollah ‘Ali Khamanai to intervene in order to find a suitable person for the ministry, and solve the crisis, according to the London-based daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat.
One member of the Majlis told the paper that the dominant conservative parties are beginning to rethink their support of the president, following his failures in both the internal and external arenas.
Experts now believe that the president might lose the Majlis’ confidence. They mention the precedent of Iran’s first president, Abu Al-Hasan Bani ‘Sadr, who was ousted for incompetence in 1981, one year after his appointment.