By Jillian Farrel -- February 22, 2010
One of Iran's opposition leaders, Mahdi Karroubi, is seeking a referendum on the Guardian Council, the body that determines who can run for office, to strip its powers.
Karroubi challenged the incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the disputed June 12 election. Karroubi received only a marginal percent of the vote.
Karroubi has referred to Article 59 of the constitution, which calls for a "referendum as a way out of crisis to end the rule of the Guardian Council." The council is in charge of supervising elections in Iran.
Over the past week, Karroubi has met with Former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi to discuss a possible joint strategy.
After the election, violence escalated in regards to the election decision. Iran has detained about 5,000 people. 44 people have died after the election while fighting with security forces.
Ahmadinejad was re-named president, while supporters of Karroubi and Mousavi denied the win. Many of the supporters of the opposition leaders clashed with police, despite a ban on public protests.
Mousavi claimed a victory in the election, while his supporters vowed for a re-run. Mousavi said there was a shortage of ballot papers. Allegedly, millions of people had been denied the right to vote.
Karroubi has requested that the opposition be able to hold a protest in
Tehran Square, so the minority and majority will be obvious.
