Campaign for Justice-seeking Parliament

The Campaign for Justice-seeking Parliament (Persian: پویش مجلس عدالت‌خواه‎) or simply the Justice Seekers (Persian: عدالت‌خواهان‎, romanized: Edalatkhahan) are a group of conservatives who compiled an electoral list for 2020 Iranian legislative election.[1][2]

Campaign for Justice-seeking Parliament
PresidentSaeid Zibakalam
SpokespersonAmir Tafreshi
Founded23 January 2020 (2020-01-23)
IdeologyConservatism[1]
Colors  Gold
  Olive
Seats won
2 / 290 (0.7%)
Website
majles-edalatkhah.com

Origins and political position
What Is to Be Done? is the title of the manifesto published by the group

With most members belonging to the younger generation, they maintain close ties to the university campuses in Tehran, as well as other major cities.[2] The group has been spawned from inside the conservative camp.[1] It is described as possessing "left-leaning tendencies" by Al-Monitor,[1] while in 2019 Radio Farda called the group right-wing.[3] According to Farhad Rezaei, despite senior members of the group have previously cooperated with Basij, leadership of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had not sided with them in the past.[4] Before, they had actively supported Saeed Jalili's campaign for 2013 presidential election.[5]

Ideologically, the group is not only against the reformists, but also opposes the conservatives in the establishment who they assume as "participants in systemic corruption".[2] On the other hand, far-right conservatives assume that they are "practically communists".[1] While members of the group did not hold a single view on all issues, they were generally against Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.[1] A senior candidate of the list supported 2011 attack on the British Embassy in Iran and was a leader of a demonstration against Hassan Rouhani for speaking on phone with U.S. President Barack Obama in 2013.[1] Their campaign primarily focused on anti-corruption themes.[2]

Leadership

The senior figures in the group were Saeid Zibakalam, Mohammad Sadegh Shahbazi and Vahid Ashtari.[1]

Restrictions imposed on activities

General reception of the list among mainstream conservatives was negative, who smeared them with terms such as "Justice Violators" and "neo-leftists".[1] Saeid Zibakalam was disqualified from running for the election by the Guardian Council. He and some other Justice Seeker activists signed a letter addressing Ali Khamenei and warning him about the legitimacy of the government.[6] Moreover, two of their other prominent candidates were arrested[1] and the security apparatus controlled by the hardliners forced them to cancel a number of campaign events.[1]

References
  1. Faghihi, Rohollah (20 February 2020), Far-left current rises from among Iranian hardliners, Al-Monitor, retrieved 22 February 2020
  2. Nada, Garrett (12 February 2020), Iran’s Parliamentary Polls: Hardliners on the Rise, Reformists Ruled Out (Analysis and Commentary), The United States Institute of Peace, retrieved 14 February 2020
  3. Two Top Clerics In Iran Allegedly Involved In 'Land Grab' Scandal, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 20 March 2019, retrieved 14 February 2020
  4. Rezaei, Farhad (2017), Iran’s Nuclear Program: A Study in Proliferation and Rollback, Springer, ISBN 9783319441207, The Basij commander Mohammed Reza Naghdi Naghdi and Seyed Morteza Rashidi, Basij member have led a social media campaign against ratifying the JCPOA. has been also linked to the Committee to Protect Iranian Interests (Komiteye Seyanat az Manafe' Iran). Its two principal activists, Mohammad Sadeq Shahbazi and Vahid Ashtari were apparently fronting for Saeed Jalili, the former Principalist presidential candidate. But the group had little power since the top Guards commanders have, for all intent and purpose, gravitated toward Pragmatic Principlism, a strategy of tacit acceptance of the deal.
  5. Zimmt, Raz (6 October 2013), Spotlight on Iran, The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, retrieved 20 February 2020
  6. "Academics, Students Warn Khamenei About Divide Between People And Government", RFE/RL, 2 January 2020, retrieved 14 February 2020
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