TEHRAN -- Despite the decision by the Expediency Council to hold general election biennially, the Interior Ministry is preparing to go ahead with holding the city council election.

All this came at a time when the Majlis special committee for city councils has voted to extend the term of the sitting city councils.
In April the Expediency council approved a bill requiring that general elections to be held every two years. Based on the bill presidential and city council elections should be held simultaneously, and the Assembly of Experts and parliamentary elections should also be held together.
However, the Interior Ministry has repeatedly voiced its opposition against holding presidential and city council elections simultaneously.
On Wednesday, Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar stated that based on the election law the city council election should be held in 2010.
If a new legally binding bill is ratified the Interior Ministry will upheld to that bill, he added.
Meanwhile, Mahdi Chamran, chairman of the Tehran City Council, said that the constitution has not envisaged anything regarding the duration of the term of city councils. He said based on the parliamentary law the duration of city council is four years.
The lawmakers could decide whether or not to extend the term of city councils to over four years, Chamran noted