Iran's Guardian Council vetoed a bill on Sunday that would have curbed its power, throwing the upcoming elections into doubt in an ongoing confrontation between reformers and conservatives.
The Guardian Council rejected a bill reinstating thousands of candidates that it disqualified earlier. The veto is likely to provoke a boycott of next month's legislative elections by reformers.
The bill, categorized as "triple-urgent", that parliament approved earlier Sunday sought to overturn the disqualification of thousands of hopefuls in the February 20 elections.
"We've been informed that the Guardian Council has vetoed the legislation on the grounds that it contradicted the constitution and Sharia (Islamic) law," Mohsen Mirdamadi told The AP.
Mirdamadi heads the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the parliament and is one of the lawmakers disqualified from running again.
Members of the Guardian Council could not immediately be reached for comment. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
