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Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/04/AR2008110402557.html
Iranian Parliament Impeaches Ahmadinejad Ally Over Fake Degree
[Washington Post] Thomas Erdbrink - Iran's parliament voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to impeach a cabinet minister who has been a close ally of President Ahmadinejad. Interior Minister Ali Kordan was impeached for having falsely claimed to hold an honorary law degree from Oxford University. The struggle over Kordan has exposed a growing divide in the parliament between the government's remaining backers and those who are abandoning it. Out of 290 deputies, 188 voted for the impeachment of Ahmadinejad's confidant, 45 voted against. On Sunday, Ahmadinejad called the impeachment "not legal" and "unfair." Kordan is the 10th Iranian minister to leave office, either through impeachment or resignation, since Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005. Ahmadinejad has yet to announce whether he will seek reelection in June. "If he does, he will be a very weak candidate," said Ahmad Zeidabadi, a political analyst and well-known critic of the president. "Anybody who is in touch with Iranian society, in cities and villages, realizes that Ahmadinejad doesn't have much support anymore."