Lawmakers underscored the need to recognize and empower independent political parties, describing it as essential to restoring the public trust.
"The more recognition the system has for parties, the more thriving and dynamic they will become and that, in turn, will help win the trust of the people," Alireza Rahimi said in a talk with ICANA on Friday.
Lamenting that Iran's political landscape has not been conducive for nascent parties to survive and thrive, Rahimi said, "Parties can freely register but rarely have they been able to grow into a national network by conducting large-scale recruitment throughout the country."
In Iran's political landscape, politicians are mainly split between two groupings, namely conservatives and reformists, with moderates close to President Hassan Rouhani leaning to the latter.
The support by reformists has been instrumental in Rouhani's victories in the two last presidential polls.
They could also garner many seats in the latest parliamentary elections in 2016, although short of having an outright majority.
Reformists experienced a fallow period after the 2008 parliamentary elections when some of them decided not to run and some were disqualified by the Guardians Council, which is in charge of vetting candidates applying to run for elections.
The discontent of the reformist camp and the poor performance of principlist president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, especially during his second term (2009-2013), led to public dissatisfaction, which was compounded by years of harsh sanctions and mismanagement.
Dramatic Comeback
The reformist camp staged a dramatic comeback by throwing their weight behind Rouhani in the 2013 presidential election, helping him to emerge victorious.
But reformists, who are barely represented in Rouhani's second-term Cabinet, have grown more critical of Rouhani's performance in recent months, complaining the administration is not doing enough to fulfill his electoral pledges.
Economic hardships, among other problems, sparked a week of demonstrations in dozens of Iranian cities in late December, where the protest slogans also targeted the reformist camp.
Rouhani's conservative opponents tried to promote his failure to make good on an electoral promise to revive the economy as the sole cause of the protests, but he later has disputed that, saying the demonstrations were not just aimed at the economy.
Prominent reformist figures have warned that the whole establishment could be affected by the loss of the camp's popular base and attempts to undermine Rouhani.
A rarer consensus appears to be emerging between principlists and reformists over the need to make room for other powerful parties on the political stage.
"If parties are regarded as a ceremonial, excessive and parallel to official organizations, such a narrow-minded view would stop or restrict their operation," Rahimi said.
People would not mind actively involving in party politics if the prevailing unwelcoming approach to new parties is dropped, he added.
Another parliamentarian, Assadollah Abbasi, said he concurred with Rahimi that there is an urgent need to rebuild public confidence.
"Some people have lost hope that an independent party can achieve its objectives and can play an effective role in parliament and other parts of the establishment."
