Heated debate continues in Iran over the Guardian Council — the arbiter of candidates qualified to run in parliamentary elections — which appears to be seeking the power to determine who can continue serving in the legislature by supervising members throughout their time in office.

Controversy first erupted in late March after the council disqualified Minoo Khaleghi, a Reformist politician from Esfahan, although she had been deemed qualified to run and had won a seat in the Feb. 26 parliamentary elections. Khaleghi’s Guardian Council approval was reportedly annulled after photos of her without a headscarf appeared on the internet. Her case has since turned into a source of conflict between the Guardian Council and the Interior Ministry, which contends that parliament, not the council, should be making such decisions. Khaleghi is not the first elected official to be disqualified by the council after election. In 2012, Kazem Salimi and Ali Akbar Matin both had their Guardian Council approvals annulled for unknown reasons two days after entering the ninth parliament (2012-16).

Fresh debate erupted over the issue after Guardian Council spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodaei on Oct. 25 commented on the general election guidelines announced by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Oct. 15. Referring to Article 13 of the guidelines — which calls for “working out a mechanism for candidates to perform their duties in the best way possible, observe their oath of allegiance and prevent financial, ethical, and economic abuses” — Kadkhodaei announced that the Guardian Council can continue its supervision of lawmakers during their entire time in office. In response, critics argued that the guidelines make no reference to supervision but are aimed at helping ensure that candidates perform their duties well, abide by what they have sworn to uphold and prevent financial abuse, while at the same time urging “necessary measures” if evidence arises that necessitates disqualification.

Guardian Council members have also pointed to Article 11 of the guidelines, which refers to the “Guardian Council’s supervision over processes, dimensions and stages of presidential, parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections,” asserting that it means they can monitor candidates at all stages of every election, including after the actual polling. These differing interpretations of Articles 11 and 13 have become a major source of disagreement between the Guardian Council on the one hand and President Hassan Rouhani's administration and several prominent lawmakers on the other.