AFP: The Iranian parliament on Tuesday approved President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's nominee as interior minister by a thin margin, two weeks after it sacked his predecessor for lying about his credentials.
TEHRAN (AFP) — The Iranian parliament on Tuesday approved President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's nominee as interior minister by a thin margin, two weeks after it sacked his predecessor for lying about his credentials.
Sadeq Mahsouli, the new minister, is one of Ahmadinejad's closest aides.
"Out of 273 deputies who received ballots to take part in the vote of confidence, 138 voted for him, 112 rejected his nomination, we have 20 abstentions, and three did not take part at all," parliament speaker Ali Larijani said in a live broadcast on state radio.
In 2005, Ahmadinejad nominated Mahsouli for the post of oil minister but withdrew ahead of a parliamentary vote of confidence because he had no experience in the crucial oil sector.
Like Ahmadinejad, the 49-year-old Mahsouli is a veteran of the Revolutionary Guards, the elite ideological army which has been steadily encroaching on national politics in the Islamic republic.
He has served in provincial government posts and also as a deputy defence minister in charge of planning.
On November 11, the majlis voted to sack Ali Kordan as interior minister for lying about his educational credentials and presenting a fake degree from Britain's Oxford University.
