Reform hopefuls kept off ballots

TEHRAN (AP) -- Hard-liners have thrown Iran's legislative elections into crisis by disqualifying hundreds of reformist candidates, including more than 80 sitting lawmakers who are allied with the president.

President Mohammed Khatami pledged to fight the move, and reformist members of parliament staged a sit-in protest at the legislature. One lawmaker condemned the decision as a "bloodless coup" by Islamic hard-liners.

Reformist lawmakers were protesting "the illegal decision of the Guardian Council to disqualify prominent reformers who have resisted hard-line dictatorship," said Reza Yousefian, one of those disqualified.

The council, which comprises hard-liners picked by Iran's supreme leader, has disqualified more than 80 incumbent lawmakers, all reformists, from seeking another term in next month's parliamentary elections, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

In all, about 900 of the 1,700 people who wanted to contest seats in Tehran have been disqualified, members of parliament said.

The disqualified legislators include Mohammad Reza Khatami, the younger brother of Iran's president, and Behzad Nabavi -- both deputy speakers of parliament. Mohammad Reza Khatami leads the Islamic Iran Participation Front, the largest reformist party.

The Guardian Council also disqualified Fatemeh Haqiqatjou and Elaheh Koulaee, two female legislators who have fought for women's rights.

President Khatami vowed yesterday to challenge the disqualifications, saying there would be a "harsh reaction" if legal channels failed to overturn the council's decision.

"It's meaningless that qualification of prominent figures who have worked for the nation for years is not approved," the president told reporters after a Cabinet meeting. "I'm against such disqualifications. There are legal ways to fight."