Iranians turned out for nationwide rallies on Thursday to commemorate the 37th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
In an address to the huge public gathering at Tehran's Azadi Square, a couple of weeks ahead of the parliamentary elections, President Hassan Rouhani said the revolution belongs to all people and it takes everyone's support to help the country reclaim its strong international position.
He said the line of thinking of neither principlists nor reformists contradicts the revolution's values, IRNA reported.
"True principlists, true reformists and true moderates are all revolutionaries," he said.
Stressing the need to modernize the revolution, the president said, "We favor dialogue, logic, negotiation and cooperation."
"A modern revolutionary is characterized by tolerance and resistance … and works toward the promotion of Iran's global status … Anyone who helps eliminate threats to the country and … promote national unity is a true revolutionary."
The legislative poll is scheduled for Feb. 26, concurrently with the vote for the Experts Assembly.
The Guardians Council, a clerical body charged with overseeing elections and screening candidates, upheld the appeals by 1,500 among thousands of registered hopefuls that provincial Election Monitoring Boards had initially ruled ineligible to stand in the parliamentary vote.
The council's list, however, is still devoid of the names of many prominent reformists, Rouhani's allies who could have turned the page for him by securing a majority of the currently conservative-dominated Majlis, thereby strengthening his hand to push through his reform plans.
"Your vote on Feb. 26 is a vote for hope, rationality, law and your own rights … In our votes, we will reject those who turn their backs on the law and those who favor conflict and extremism," he said.
Rouhani mirrored an appeal by the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei to the people and all political factions to go to the polls despite any grievances against the establishment.
"As the Leader has said even if one has a grievance against the system or the ruling government, they should not turn away from the ballot box. Everyone should go to the ballot box," he said.
