 A few months before the election on December 14, 2007, twenty-one moderate and reformist parties formed a coalition centered on Mohammad Khatami to increase their chances in the election.However, around 1,700 candidates were barred from running by the Guardian Council vetting body, the Supervisory and Executive Election Boards, on the grounds that they were not sufficiently loyal to the Iranian revolution.These included 90% of "independent and reformist candidates," 19 sitting MPs, and Ayatollah Khomeini's grandson, Ali Eshraghi, who complained, 
"What saddens me most is the method of discernment used [by the Council of Guardians].