Cartoon 141: Almost “Disqualified” By Voters

The February 2016 elections in Iran produced unexpected results for the hardliners, who had made every effort to keep reformist and moderate candidates out of the competition through major disqualifications handed out by the conservative Council of Guardians, led by Ahmad Jannati, himself a candidate in the Assembly of Expert elections.

The powerful Mohammad Yazdi, Head of the Assembly of Experts, and Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, a leading hardline ideologue, were voted out of the Assembly on February 26. Ahmad Jannati, the hardliner Head of the Council of Guardians, only just held onto his seat—he was the last person, the 16th, on the list of those who entered the Assembly from Tehran. This is cartoonist Touka Neyestani’s take on the developments.