Iran's Parliament Approves All Candidates For Minister Of Proposal For President Pezeshkian, There Is Reformist To Women's Minister

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. (Wikimedia Commons/Khademei.ir)

JAKARTA - Iran's parliament approved all ministerial candidates proposed by President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday, in which there were reformist figures to female ministers.

After five working days and 10 open sessions of Iranian lawmakers to review the proposed background, qualifications, and work plans of the ministers, 288 lawmakers voted. As a result, all proposed ministers were accepted.

"The path to our safety is unity and solidarity," President Pezeshkian said in front of lawmakers who have been discussing proposals for ministerial candidates since last Saturday.

Support for ministerial candidates by parliament is not a formality. A ministerial candidate proposed by the late President Ebrahim Raisi in 2021, must be replaced by another name because he did not have sufficient approval due to a lack of experience.

Unlike the previous cabinet, this cabinet includes reformist figures such as Health Minister Mohammadreza Zafarqandi, who secured his position despite receiving the lowest number of votes, namely 163.

There is also Farz Strange Sadegh who will lead the Ministry of Highways and Urban Development. He received quite high votes, 231 votes from 288 lawmakers, quoted from IRNA.

She will become the second women's cabinet minister in the country's history. The country's first female minister was elected by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009.

Of all the ministers approved, no one received 288 full votes. The ministerial candidate with the highest votes was Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh for the position of defense minister with 281 votes. In second place is Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Seyyed Abbas Salehi with 272 votes.

President Pezeshkian appreciated parliament's approval of its ministerial candidates, saying this is a sign of the government's synergy with parliament.

In a letter addressed to Iranian Parliamentary Leader Mohammad Bagher Qallibaf, President Pezeshkian said the MPs' absolute vote to approve his cabinet ministers was social assets that strengthened the new government's approach to creating a sense of national unity in the country.

He emphasized that he had considered views from top political officials and state executives as well as various political, social and cultural groups before handing over a list of ministerial candidates to parliament.

Iran's parliament on Wednesday approved all 19 candidates proposed by Pezeshkian to fill ministry posts in its new government.