Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 18 / Trend T.Konyayeva, T.Jafarov/
Representatives of all Iranian parties and factions should take part and gain seats at the forthcoming parliamentary elections, ILNA quoted Expidiency Council Chairman Ayatolla Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as saying on Tuesday.
Ex-President Rafsanjani made the remarks during the meeting with members of the People's Democratic Party
He noted that it is very important for people to know that the country gives them an opportunity to vote for candidates they want to see at the parliament.
Rafsanjani called on to create conditions for independent and free activities of the Iranian parties and mass media.
The people's votes are not intended for decoration, they should be a driving force, he added.
"Necessary conditions should be created to hold transparent and healthy elections based on the people's will," Rafsanjani said.
The ninth parliamentary elections are scheduled for March 2012. Some parties have launched pre-election activities, although six months have left until elections.
Some officials oppose engaging the reformists in the elections while others admit their participation under two conditions - not to organize post-electoral actions and to obey fully Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei said late August the elections should be well safeguarded as "a divine blessing". Later, he noted that the elections pose potential risk to the country's security and called for national unity.
The Iranian parliament has 290 members but it is considering a project for increasing the number of MPs. If the Commission on Parliamentary Affairs completes the project and presents it to the Parliament for approval during two months, more 20 people will take seats in the parliament by the forthcoming elections in March.
Iran's political system is based on the conservatives and reformists. At the moment the Conservatives are in power in Iran.