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Dissident Iran cleric urges unified reform vote

TEHRAN: Iran's senior dissident theologian has warned candidates in next week's parliamentary polls against diluting the pro-reform vote, saying some may need to withdraw from the race in the name of unity.

Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, in a statement made available to Reuters on Saturday, also called for a big turnout in Friday's election that pits conservatives against reformers surrounding President Mohammad Khatami.

Montazeri, under house arrest in the holy Shi'ite Muslim city of Qom since 1997 for challenging the credentials of Iran's supreme clerical leader, stopped short of endorsing any of the candidates or factions.

But he made it clear he was concerned the large number of pro-reform candidates in many constituencies might dilute their vote and open the way to the conservatives who control the present parliament.

"Candidates should consider the expediency of Islam, the country and their constituency and, if necessary, withdraw in order to create unity and to allow the best person to win, Montazeri said.

"Self-sacrifice is one of the attributes of the godly."

The cleric, once designated successor to late revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, also cautioned that anyone engaged in voter fraud would one day answer to God.

"The gentlemen in charge of the election should be aware that they hold the people's votes in trust, and if they breach this trust the will invoke God's wrath and will be answerable to him on Judgment Day.

"Do not sell off your faith or your conscience for another's material gain."

Montazeri angered the conservative establishment last month in a joint interview with Reuters and the Guardian newspaper in which he denounced clerical control of the elections and called for limits on the powers of the supreme leader.

Despite his demotion from the revolutionary leadership and later house arrest, he remains an influential religious and political figure with a large, if discreet, following.-Reuters