Tehran, YJC. While many believe Qalibaf to be a capable mayor, the new City Council of Tehran appears to be considering other figures for the position as well.
Qalibaf
was a presidential candidate who lost the competition to Hassan Rouhani. After Rouhani's
victory speculations began as
to the future political career of other
candidates, one of the most debated ones being the Mayor of Tehran,
Mohammadbaqer Qalibaf.
After
his election, Rouhani commissioned the Reformist Tehran City Council member
Mohammadali Najafi to call Qalibaf, inviting him to a meeting.
Right
after the message, Qalibaf paid visit to the President-elect. After the visit,
Qalibaf said "Mr. Rouhani mentioned the issue of my help with the future
administration, and I responded that I will serve the government in the
municipality.”
This
adds up to nothing but the rejection of the President’s offer by his number one
rival.
But
these days other things are being heard. While Qalibaf had said in a meeting
with his campaign staff in Torqabeh, Mashhad that Rouhani had invited him to
join the cabinet, his head of campaign staff Hossein Mozaffar denies such an
offer.
Mozaffar
has said that so far there has been no negotiation about Qalibaf to take a
governmental position, but such an offer will be a wise action by the
government to gather the elite for managing the country’s affairs.
Now
as most political entities talk of Qalibaf’s third term in the municipality,
everything is to be decided by the fourth City Council which is to begin
operation on September 3.
Mozaffar
stated "In the negotiations that members of the City Council of Tehran have had
with Qalibaf, they have expressed their preference that Qalibaf remain Mayor to
finish the projects underway.”
"Currently
there is no one more suitable than Qalibaf for the municipality and we hope
that he will once more be elected as the mayor of Tehran,” he added.
Meanwhile Alireza Dabir, another member of the City Council, has stressed the
common opinion of members of the council for Qalibaf to remain in his position.
He said
that polls show that 78 percent of the people of Tehran would like Qalibaf to
remain as mayor.
Other
sources, meanwhile, say that as talks to take Qalibaf into Rouhani's cabinet
continue, speculations regarding the election of Mohsen Rezaei as mayor become
more frequent.
* Hossein Amiri