Tehran City Council chairman vetoes mayor’s questioning for second time

Mehdi Chamran, Chairman of the Tehran City Council, exercised his veto power to prevent the city’s mayor Alireza Zakani from answering questions posed by council members amid rising dissatisfaction with the mayor’s decisions and function.

This decision was made just before the Wednesday council session, with Chamran citing the “current state of the country” as the reason.

There are tensions between the Tehran City Council and the mayor’s office, with council members seeking accountability and transparency in municipal operations.

Before the session, Chamran stated that Zakani was ready to respond to questions from council member Jafar Tashakkori Hashemi regarding the allocation of municipal funds and facilities but postponed it due to the country’s “special conditions.”

Tashakkori Hashemi emphasized that the primary demand is for the mayor to address and rectify the issues within the municipality.

The city council member insisted that Zakani must answer the council’s questions, warning if his explanations are unsatisfactory, the council may consider impeachment.

According to the law, the mayor must appear before the council within ten days of a question being raised.

This is not the first time Chamran has used his veto to shield Zakani from council questioning. Previously, council member Soudabeh Najafi raised a question about the construction of 200,000 housing units, which Chamran vetoed, claiming it had not followed legal procedures.

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