TEHRAN (Mehr News Agency) — MP Majid Ansari predicted here Sunday that people would massively participate in the seventh Majlis elections despite the pessimistic predictions of certain political camps.

These political groups benefit from the reduction of voter turnout and the increase of the people’s sense of hopelessness, he said.

Ansari, who is a member of the Association of Combatant Clerics, expressed hope that people’s massive participation in the upcoming elections would wipe out all traces of the pessimism of some predictions and lead to a parliament based on national interests.

He said that no political group in Iran can obliterate its competitors due to the political arrangement, adding that experience has shown that collective participation is far more constructive than exclusive power.

Ansari, who represents Tehran in the Majlis, mentioned the coalition created by reformist groups and stressed that a general unity based on national interests and the values of the Islamic Revolution as expressed in the Constitution is acceptable.

“We have accepted the Constitution as a complete covenant and do not approve of any group that will accept certain aspects of the Constitution while disapproving of other parts of it,” he said.

Ansari, who is also a member of the Assembly of Experts, criticized those who hold obdurate viewpoints on the issue, adding that the power structure in the Constitution and the management of the Islamic system is based on velayat-e faqih (rule by the supreme jurisprudent) and people’s basic rights, especially their right to vote.

“Obdurate viewpoints on the power structure and the Constitution run contrary to the ideas of the late Imam Khomeini,” he said.

Ansari, who is also member of the Expediency Council, stressed that magnifying or understating certain principles could alter Iran’s integrated political system.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is based on velayat-e faqih, which is clearly taken into consideration in the Constitution’s various principles, thus to defend velayat-e faqih is to defend the rule of law and the general structure of the system,” he said.

The MP went on to say that certain measures taken by political camps in confronting their political rivals have caused pessimism among the youth and society in general.

He added that all officials, institutions, and citizens are obligated to make efforts to stabilize and raise the status of the country.

Ansari said that certain people have highlighted issues such as violating the rules of the structure and the rise of unreligious values.

He added that the issues mentioned by President Khatami, who was elected president and reelected in two landslides, are within the framework of the political system of Iran and in line with the Constitution.

However, we do not approve of reformist processes which violate the rules of the structure of the system, he said in conclusion.