Ahmadinejad letter infuriates Iran Majlis

An Iranian lawmaker expresses dismay over the "tone" of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's letter to Parliament in which he named his nominee for Sports and Youth Minister, Press TV reported.

"This form of letter writing to introduce ministers undermines the position of Parliament (Majlis)," Emad Hosseini was quoted by Khabaronline as saying.

Hosseini stressed that he would not be participating in the said minister's vetting session.

"With this kind of introducing the [nominee for the] sports and youth minister, I will not participate in this minister's confirmation hearing," said the legislator.

"Other lawmakers may also decide not to attend the [vetting] session," he underscored.

Speaker Ali Larijani said this form of letter writing would not undermine Majlis credibility, as the Constitution has determined the extent of the Parliament's authority.

"[The late] Imam Khomeini also said Majlis is at the helm of affairs," Larijani added.

Another lawmaker Javad Jahangirzadeh described the letter as "[setting a] precedence and an unorthodox measure."

"President's proposed minister will definitely not receive a vote [of confidence]," he said.

"What Mr. Ahmadinejad did is definitely meddling in the responsibility of [the] other [two] branches of government," he added.

Jahangirzadeh advised president Ahmadinejad to refrain from using such a manner to introduce new ministers as it would only result in the said individual to receive a vote of no-confidence from lawmakers.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday introduced Hamid Sajjadi to Parliament as the candidate to head the newly-established Ministry of Sports and Youth.

The president named Sajjadi as the country's first ever minister of sports and youth, in a letter to Speaker Larijani.

The announcement came after Larijani filed an official complaint with the Judiciary against President Ahmadinejad, criticizing his administration for not implementing the parliamentary ratification concerning the formation of the new ministry.


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