Ahmadinejad's gov't loses legitimacy: Iranian lawyer

Dismissing 11 ministers and under the requirement of the Article 136 of the Constitution, the importance of approving the government at the parliament casts shadow on the legitimacy of the government.

"The parliament must agree to approve all ministers, otherwise the government will lose its legitimacy," the first category attorney of the Iranian prosecutor's office Mohammad Safizadeh said.

Safizadeh said the government has lost legitimacy due to replacement of half of the Cabinet of Ministers and authority of the Cabinet should soon be re-approved by the parliament.

"As half of the ministers have been dismissed, the parliament must approve the new powers of the cabinet. As the government cannot operate, as it has lost legitimacy," Member of the Human Rights Committee in Iran and Secretary General of the Free Elections Committee Safizadeh said.

Vice-Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad-Reza Bahonar said in his interview with the Mehr agency that as the president's inauguration will take place at least in two weeks, the parliament has no time to approve a new composition of the Cabinet

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's inauguration will be held on Aug. 5. After the inauguration, the newly elected president must submit the composition of the Cabinet to the parliament for approval within two weeks. The parliament, in turn, should study the composition of the Cabinet within a week and release its decision, Mehr news agency reported.

It is illegal to hold a meeting of the parliament and approve powers of the Cabinet before the president's the inauguration, Bahonar said, noting that the government has no right to develop a paper during this time.

Moreover, heads of 21 ministries were replaced 9 times in Iran  during Ahmadinejad's first tenure.

The Article 136 of the Iranian Constitution states: "The president can dismiss ministers, and in this case, the powers of the new ministers must be approved by the parliament, and if after the approval, half of the Cabinet composition changes, the authority of the Cabinet of Ministers should be re-approved."

/Trend News/