It is better for the mayor to resign himself

It is better for the mayor to resign himself.

It is better for the mayor to resign himself. If 7 members of the Tehran City Council resign at the same time, the council will lose its majority and be dissolved.

In such a situation, the Minister of Interior must appoint a caretaker for the mayoral position until new council members are elected a year later, who will then choose the mayor of Tehran.

Critics of the Tehran mayor in the City Council have given Zahkani until October to resign, and if he does not resign, other council members are willing to impeach him.

The law requires 14 signatures for an impeachment session of the Tehran mayor, but Zahkani’s supporters in the Tehran City Council are so numerous that those demanding his impeachment do not reach 14 members.

Naser Amani, a member of the Tehran City Council, told reporters about the collective resignation that if we reach a consensus for changing the mayor of Tehran and have no other way, we will take this action. In fact, opponents of Zahkani in the Tehran City Council have also thought about the final stage and are willing to spend more than a year in the council to uphold the city’s rights.

Mehdi Chamran, the head of Tehran City Council, announced last week the efforts of the Supreme Council of Provinces to extend the term of the Tehran City Council to 7 years.

Seyyed Jafar Sharbiani, a member of the presiding board of the Tehran City Council, also warned about political confrontations with members of the council and said, ‘We have sat on the basis of the revolution and on the chairs.’

Let’s not speak in a way that critics today are labeled as non-revolutionary and representatives of international interests. Let’s set aside the past 3 years’ approach and not silence the voice of critics.

Mehdi Eqararian, one of the critics in the Tehran City Council, reported hiding inefficiencies behind political disputes and in a public session of the council said that the existence of radical and antagonistic political groups, referred to by various names, creates false dichotomies. These false dichotomies hide their inefficiencies behind political disputes and escape from accountability for their non-transparent performance, which is tribalistic, based on nepotism, labeling, and file-making.

Among these rumors, it is said that Alireza Zakani has invited the members of the parliament to a tour of Tehran at the expense of the Tehran Municipality.

Some saw this move as the Tehran Mayor’s attempt for political support, while others evaluated it as an effort to stay in the mayoral position.

The last solution is a collective resignation.

Ali Asghar Ghaemi, a member of Tehran City Council, commented on the collective resignation, saying that the discussion of Mr. Zakani’s inefficiency is a proven fact.

The debate about proving his efficiency is another matter. The simplest suggestion is for him to respectfully resign and leave the mayoral position, creating an opportunity for someone else to serve.

He added that if he does not resign, his critics in the Tehran City Council are serious about changing the city’s management.

It remains to be seen how they will achieve this change. Perhaps the critical friends believe that if resignation or impeachment does not happen, they may choose the worst possible solution, causing the Tehran City Council to lose its majority. Naturally, the Minister of Interior will have to appoint an interim mayor for the next year.

This path is not desirable, and we should try to prevent the Tehran City Council members from reaching this point.

We have not come to resign.

Seyed Jafar Tashakori Hashemi, a member of the Tehran City Council, also emphasized the mass resignation of some members of the Tehran City Council as the last resort available to them.

We didn’t come to resign, but we came to solve the people’s problems. However, if we see that the people’s problems are not being resolved, there is no listening ear, and the municipality acts contrary to the expectations and desires of the people, as well as contrary to the decisions of the Tehran City Council, we will use all legal solutions. Of course, we don’t start with the last solution first.

He added that we prefer the Mayor of Tehran to first correct his own procedures.

There is a kind of personal arrogance in him that makes him think that no one understands except himself, and everyone is 100% wrong and mistaken, and only he perceives reality.

This is a mindset that the Mayor of Tehran should correct within himself as soon as possible and adopt logical, scientific, and participatory procedures. We have repeatedly said that we wish for this Tehran City Council and Mayor to succeed, and for the people to be satisfied with the performance of this urban management period.

If this satisfaction does not exist, we will consider all legal capacities such as submitting an impeachment motion, and even if necessary, resignation as the last solution to preserve the rights of the people.

Hashemi expressed in response to the question of whether there is a place for reform in the municipality after three years, saying it is natural for the municipality to become familiar with the environment, conditions, and problems of the city in one year and organize its team.

For this reason, we could not put pressure on Tehran’s mayor, Zakhani, in the first year, but in the second year, we developed a plan for him in the Tehran City Council and provided him with good budgets.

Now, with less than a year left until the end of the municipal management’s term, we cannot pursue the work with peace and tranquility. All arguments and follow-ups have been completed, and warnings have been given to the municipality.

For this reason, some critical members in the Tehran City Council, currently numbering 10, and possibly increasing in the future, want to use all capacities to improve the procedures in Tehran’s municipality, and if necessary, proceed with the resignation or impeachment of the mayor.

The ultimate solution to protect the rights of the people is mass resignation from the Tehran City Council. We don’t have much time to hesitate between these options and we must quickly choose one of these solutions.

Despite the critics of Zakani in the Tehran City Council seeking his resignation or impeachment and putting pressure to remove him, Zakani’s supporters in the council have chosen to remain silent.

Zakani’s team can also put pressure on the critics of Zakani in the Tehran City Council, especially on Narjes Solimani, the head of the Supervisory and Legal Commission, who openly raised the issue of changing the Tehran mayor for the first time in the public session of the city’s parliament.