TEHRAN - Mohammad Atrianfar, a member of the central council of the pro-reform Servants of Construction Party, has advised the reformists if they find no candidate in the upcoming presidential elections turn to “existing qualified candidate” like the 2103 elections in which they backed Hassan Rouhani as their favored candidate.

Atrianfar also rejected rumors that the Construction Party will lean toward moderate principlists if they win the election, saying, “Servants (of Construction Party) have been the core of reforms in Iran and allegations of turning to the right is also among allegations that are being attributed by extremist friends (in the reform camp).”

Atrianfar added, “The government of Mohammad Khatami, which was later called the ‘cabinet of reformers’, was born out of the continuation of political moves by the Servants, a reality that all agree on it.”

He called certain reformist groups as slogan makers who use “radical slogans” but refuse to pay political costs when necessary.

“They do not pay any cost for reforms and just make publicity.”

In his interview with IRNA, the political activist also said if the Moderation and Development Party seeks to be politically active and remain loyal to the “management style” of Hassan Rouhani, the current president, it has no alternative other than clarify its status under the reformist front even if the reformists lost the next elections.

“If principlists win the next presidential elections and the Moderation and Development Party turns toward the principlist camp, they will undoubtedly lose greatly, because principlists don’t trust their turn toward themselves.” 
 
The secretary-general of the Moderation Development Party is Mohammad Reza Nobakht, who currently acts as the director of the Management and Planning Organization. The other key member of the party is Mahmoud Vaezi, Rouhani’s presidential chief of staff.

Atrianfar also criticized the new young principlists who have detached themselves from their predecessors. 

The traditional principlists have authenticity but groups such as “the resilience front”, who were loyal to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, talk in a way as if they want to reinvent “the wheels of politics”.

In his interview, Atrianfar also said the principlist camp does not have a better candidate for the 2021 presidential election than Ali Larijani.

Larijani was the speaker of parliament for three consecutive terms.

The presidential election in Iran will be held mid-June 2021. 

PA/MH