I have been wondering as to the disposition of the Majlis (the Iranian parliament) in regards to the ongoing dispute over the presidential elections. We may now have a a clue.
Via the BBC: MPs ’snub’ Ahmadinejad poll party
More than 180 Iranian MPs appear to have snubbed an invitation to celebrate President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s election win, local press reports say.
All 290 MPs were invited to the victory party on Wednesday night, but only 105 turned up, the reports say.
[...]
About 50 MPs in the Iranian parliament are reformist and would not have been expected to attend Mr Ahmadinejad’s party.
One of those who reportedly did not attend is Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, a high-profile figure who shares some of Mr Ahmadinejad’s hardline views but has been critical of some aspects of the government’s handling of the protests.
The high number of other MPs who stayed away is another indication that the disputed election has split the nation, says the BBC’s Jeremy Bowen in Tehran.
Too much can be made of this, no doubt, but it does seem symbolically important that over half the MPs did not attend the celebration.
Meanwhile the state continues to repress:
Separately, key protest leader Mir Hossein Mousavi said on his website that he was facing “recent pressures” to withdraw his election challenge. “Access to people is completely restricted”, the Associated Press news agency quoted him as saying.Sphere: Related ContentEarlier, his website said 70 university professors were arrested immediately after meeting Mr Mousavi on Wednesday, and it was not clear where they had been taken.
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