Iran: Call for Younger, Efficient Ministers

Lawmakers have urged President Hassan Rouhani, whose mandate was renewed for a second four-year term in the Friday election, to appoint a more efficient Cabinet preferably with young ministers. “Expertise should be regarded as among the most important requirements for a cabinet post… Those who are assigned ministerial portfolios should be young to be able to pursue and handle the problems effectively,” Mohammad Feizi told ICANA on Monday. In relevant remarks, Deputy Parliament Speaker Ali Motahhari said Rouhani should also consider posts for efficient members of the rival conservative camp who have a proven managerial record.  This means a departure from the normal practice by newly-elected governments, especially when executive power changes hands between reformists and conservatives, to get rid of officials and managers appointed by their predecessors and normally replacing them with political loyalists. Rouhani won reelection by securing 57% of the vote, 8 million more than his nearest rival Ebrahim Raeisi who got 15.7 million votes.