Tehran, Iran, February 28
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
The February 26 elections of Iran exhibited a political wisdom permeating the Iranian society, a wisdom which is itself the outcome of a huge historic renaissance, said Mehdi Motaharnia, political science professor at Tehran Islamic Azad University.
"I have time and again called the Islamic revolution of Iran a historic renaissance among Muslims and the Eastern world. Today I believe in what I have said in all sincerity," he told Trend February 28.
Iran held elections of the Parliament and Assembly of Experts simultaneously on February 26. The latest results of parliamentary elections indicate that all 30 leading candidates in Tehran belong to reformists' list. Reports also say that candidates supported by moderates and reformists are leading in Assembly of Experts election in Iran's capital of Tehran.
"The outcome of this historic renaissance is now being materialized as some political humanism, whose carriers are the grass-roots risen from the very center of the Islamic revolution. These carries have amongst them creative, educated people, so much so that they are now facing some inflation of the elite," the professor asserted.
"The Islamic revolution of Iran on February 26 proved to be in possession of what it takes to bestow a meaningful democracy upon Iranians. Those who were driven to the margin during the 2009 crisis, took lesson from history to adopt the best possible approach, abandon political pertinacity, and pave the ground for a very meaningful move on February 26," Motaharnia observed.
"Now begins a start to an end," he added, "The end of much exhaustive fray should be rendered. Instead of wasting energy in facing self-made rivals, one should shake hands with self-made comrades and prepare the way for more activity and the better development of democracy not only for the future Iran, but also as a model of political behavior for regional countries."
The former Iranian Parliament was dominated by right-wing representatives who were in tune with former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but had much friction with the incumbent, Hassan Rouhani.
"In the future, the Iranian Parliament should first of all give precedence to economically reinforcing the country and also consider people's pockets before it does their hereafter. On the other hand, it should prepare to shape religious values according to the national criteria of Iranians. Thus, it should manage to build a suitable atmosphere for prioritizing the freedom of thought and freedom of expression as a means to contribute to the flourishing the intellectual creativeness of the country's elite and the propagation of values," the professor concluded.