TEHRAN -- Senior MP Mohammad-Reza Bahonar of the conservative faction and former MP Mohammad-Reza Khatami of the reformist camp held a debate on Sunday over the performance of sitting and previous parliaments.

They both agreed that both parliaments shared views on many economic issues but differed on political issues and foreign policy.
They also agreed that the parliament suffers from lack of support from strong political parties especially in expert studies.
On the March 14 parliamentary election Khatami argued that the reformists have been deprived of the chance to contest 200 seats due to disqualification of their candidates in many constituencies.
Bahonar hit back, saying Es’haq Jahangiri - the former industry minister who is standing for parliament - has predicted that the reformists will capture over 50 percent of parliament seats and this shows that Khatami’s assertion is not true.
NCP announces national candidate lists
National Confidence Party election chief Masoud Soltanifar on Sunday announced the names of the party’s candidates in 28 provinces.
Meanwhile, NCP Secretary General Mahdi Karrubi complained about the performance of a number of reformists, saying “aftershocks by some reformists still continue.”
He also said the legislative election will be a test for people and the candidates.
Makeup of next parliament unpredictable
Assadollah Badamchian who is on the United Fundamentalist Front list for the Tehran constituency said on Sunday that the makeup of the next parliament is not “predictable”.
“Currently, one cannot predict the composition of the eighth Majlis because it is dependent on the people’s votes.”
Badamchian said the next parliament, regardless of its composition, should be able to perform its duties very well.
However, he said the people are more inclined toward fundamentalists because they see them as more capable of handling the country’s issues.
He called the ongoing parliamentary campaign “competitive” and said, “We need the cooperation of all forces in the next Majlis” in order to fully resolve problems.
He added the priorities of the next parliament will be foreign policy, employment, and curbing rampant housing prices.
“In resolving economic problems we need serious work” and the next parliament is hoped to resolve these issues, Badamchian stated