The legislative body, called Majles, convened on Saturday to assess the qualifications of the 19 proposed ministers. 263 lawmakers were present in the open session headed by Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.
The session began with a speech by President Pezeshkian, who according to Majles’ bylaw, is given a 150-minute time to defend his cabinet and elaborate on its future plans to administer the country.
After the president’s speech, 5 lawmakers speak in favor of his proposed cabinet, each given a 15-minute time. Five more lawmakers also speak against the cabinet, each within the same time span of 15 minutes.
Furthermore, the specialized committees of the Majles would present their reports on the plans they received from the proposed ministers last week. This is followed by speeches by four lawmakers, 2 in favor and 2 opposed, about the ministers’ plans. Each lawmaker should give their speech within 15 minutes.
After that, the president or his proposed ministers are given time to defend their plans. The ministers are chosen in alphabetical order to give their speeches.
Majles is expected to conclude the process of assessing the ministers’ qualifications by Wednesday when lawmakers will decide on giving their vote of confidence to the proposed cabinet.
‘Cabinet of nat’l reconciliation’
In his speech to Majles on Saturday, President Pezeshkian said his proposed cabinet is “the cabinet of national reconciliation” that belongs to all Iranians, tasked with upholding their citizenship rights and prioritizing national interests.
He said that his administration will remain committed to the Iranian Constitution, the country’s outlook development goals as well as general policies announced by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
Pezeshkian called for cooperation and joint action by the three branches of the government, namely the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary in order to reduce threats faced by the country, alleviate people’s sufferings, and preserve the hopes created among different walks of life.
Pezeshkian vows to resolve problems
The president said that his administration will promote equality and establish ties with other countries based on the three principles of dignity, prudence and expediency.
The future administration will fight the enemies of Iran’s dignity, sovereignty and independence and will work to promote social welfare, he added.
“We should have a positive interaction with all institutions with the aim of convergence and building consensus, strengthening internal integration and prioritizing national interests over institutional, factional and sectoral interests,” Pezeshkian noted.
He added that policy-making and decision-making should be based on evidence, calculations and adopting expert-level approaches, in a way that the issues would be resolved based on the collective wisdom of the elites and experts instead of relying on individual opinions.
Elsewhere in his speech, the president promised that his administration will fight corruption, resolve economic problems, respect freedom of speech, and pave the way for a more active presence of the private sector in order to increase people’s participation in social, economic and cultural activities.
‘Mutual understanding needed’
Pezeshkian spoke of low public satisfaction which he blamed on key issues that have remained unresolved despite what he called sincere efforts to achieve success over the past years.
He said that mutual understanding, unity and national reconciliation are all needed to resolve the problems persisting for years, and particularly called on parliament to play its part and assist in that process.
External threats
The president said that the US remains at the top of threats faced by Iran, but added that the country can reduce those threats if it remains united.
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