Minoo Khaleghi

Minoo Khaleghi
Khaleghi in February 2016
Member-elect of the Iranian Parliament[lower-alpha 1]
Succeeded by	Alireza Ajoudani
Constituency	Isfahan
Majority	193,399 (28.8%)
Personal details
Born	Minoo Khaleghi c. 1985 (age 30–31) Isfahan, Iran
Nationality	Iranian
Political party	List of Hope
Alma mater	University of Isfahan Allameh Tabataba'i University Islamic Azad University
Occupation	Journalist, Activist
Profession	Jurist
Religion	Islam
She was scheduled to take office on 28 May 2016. After her disqualification, the next candidate Alireza Ajoudani takes the seat.

Minoo Khaleghi (Persian: مینو خالقی‎‎) is an Iranian jurist and reformist activist. In the 2016 parliamentary elections, Khaleghi won a seat, however she was disqualified by the Guardian Council after the election.

Background

Khaleghi was born in 1985, in Isfahan. She comes from a well-known family, whose uncle –Nasser Khaleghi– served in the Cabinet of President Mohammad Khatami.^[1] A graduate of University of Isfahan and Allameh Tabataba'i University in Law, she is now a PhD Candidate at Islamic Azad University's Isfahan Science and Research Branch. Her fields of expertize include public and communications law. She has been a journalist in local media and an activist in local non-governmental organizations with a focus on women's rights and environmentalism. Khaleghi is also a member of "natural resources and climate change comittee", Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines & Agriculture—Isfahan.^[2]

2016 election

Backed by the moderate–reformist List of Hope, she received the third-highest vote in Isfahan County and was elected as a member of the parliament. In an interview with the Financial Times, she said her aim is "to fight for the rights of women who head families and increase the support they get from the law".^[3]

The election results were as follows:^[4]

Iranian legislative election, 2016
#	Candidate	Affiliation		Votes	%
1	Hamidreza Fouladgar		Principlists Grand Coalition	200,690	29.81
2	Nahid Tajeddin		List of Hope	195,066	29.05
3	Minoo Khaleghi		List of Hope	193,399	28.80
4	Heidarali Abedi		List of Hope	179,230	26.69
5	Ahmad Salek		Principlists Grand Coalition	176,807	26.33
6	Alireza Ajoudani		List of Hope	175,938	26.20
7	Masoud Hamidi-Toghchi		List of Hope	162,767	24.24
8	Majid Naderolasli		Principlists Grand Coalition	158,916	23.66
9	Kamal Heydari		Principlists Grand Coalition	145,629	21.68
10	Mojtaba Khayyam-Nekouyi		Principlists Grand Coalition	142,403	21.20
11	Hassan Kamran-Dastjerdi		Unlisted (Principlist)	131,545	19.59
12	Abbas Moghtadaei-Khorasgani		Unlisted (Principlist)	103,639	15.43
13	Nayyereh Akhavan-Bitaraf		Unlisted (Principlist)	101,697	15.14
...	Other Candidates			<50,000	<7.50
Blank or Invalid Votes				63,141	8.60
Total Votes				734,612

Disqualification

On 20 March 2016, the last day of the Iranian calendar year, right before Nowruz, the Guardian Council ruled that Minoo Khaleghi couldn’t take her seat because her votes are “null and void”, and didn’t give a reason for ruling her out.^[1] In an open letter, Khaleghi said she had not met any council members in the days prior to or following the election, and she rejected “boundless rumors” which questioned her “dignity and character” as a Muslim.^[3] According to rumors quoted in multiple Iranian sources, she was disqualified because of an alleged photo of her without wearing hijab, or shaking hands with a non-mahram man.^[1]

References

1. Mehrnaz Samimi (6 April 2016). "Guardian Council to Elected MP, “No Seat For you!”". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
2. "سوابق و زندگینامه نمایندگان اصفهان در مجلس دهم". Esfahan Emrooz (in Persian). 28 February 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
3. "Top Iran Council Challenges Rouhani With Lawmaker Rejection". Bloomberg. 26 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
4. "آگهی نتيجه انتخابات مجلس شورای اسلامی در حوزه انتخابيه شهرستان اصفهان". Isfahan Province Government (in Persian). 29 February 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.