Ahmadinejad lauds his govt ahead of confidence vote

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted on Saturday that his current government fought for people's rights and served them honestly, as he prepares to face a vote of confidence on his new cabinet.

"In my view, the ninth government exerted all its efforts and abilities in the path of honesty, service and fighting for people's rights," the hardliner said at the shrine of the founder of the Islamic republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

"I think that the ninth government did its best and I hope that God almighty will continue protecting, guiding and accepting our services to the people," the president was quoted as saying by the state broadcaster.

He was speaking at the shrine to mark annual government week, which commemorates the killing of president Mohammad Ali Rajai and prime minister Mohammad Javad Bahonar in a spate of opposition bombings in 1981.

Ahmadinejad was re-elected for a second four-year term as Iran's president in a disputed June 12 poll, which his rivals claim was heavily rigged.

On Sunday, he will introduce his new 21-member cabinet line-up to members of parliament, who will over three days scrutinise the line-up before the vote of confidence on Wednesday, Iranian media said.

Ahmadinejad is facing stiff opposition from his own hardline camp over some of the candidates he has chosen as next ministers in the new government, which will be the 10th since the Islamic republic was founded in 1979.

Several MPs have consistently said that about six nominees, including the key oil minister candidate, could be rejected by parliament.

During his first tenure, Ahmadinejad came under fire for frequently reshuffling the cabinet, sacking 10 ministers and two central bank chiefs and retaining inexperienced ministers.