TEHRAN, Jan. 31 (Xinhuanet) -- Iran's interior minister said Saturday that it was impossible to hold the parliamentary elections on Feb. 20 after many reform candidates were barred from standing by the Guardian Council, the official news agency IRNA reported.

    "The possibility of organizing a free and competitive election does not exist, and we do not consider this election to be legitimate," Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari was quoted as saying.

    He said cabinet ministers will have a meeting later on Saturday to discuss the issue.

    The Interior Ministry had demanded the Guardians Council postpone the elections amid a crisis over the disqualification of 3,605 out of the 7,900 candidates who registered to contest the polls.

    After a final review of the blacklist, the Guardians Council late on Friday reinstated 1,160 candidates out of 3,605 whom it initially banned from standing in next month's parliamentary elections. The rest 2,449 candidates were still barred from the polls.

    Those barred, allegedly for not respecting Islam or the constitution, included some 80 incumbent lawmakers and prominent figures of the reform movement.

    Iranian reformers complained Saturday that the list of candidates barred from next month's parliamentary elections was still too high, and warned that a mass walk-out by pro-reform lawmakers was imminent.

    Dozens of lawmakers who have for the past two weeks been staging a sit-in at the parliament building were now determined to present their resignations and not participate in the elections, said Mohsen Armin, a prominent reformist lawmaker.

    "We will announce it officially tomorrow (Sunday)," and " a lot of" lawmakers ready to quit were not only restricted to those who have been barred from standing, he warned.

    All 27 provincial governors demanded the elections postponed unless most rejected candidates resume the right to contest in the polls. A pro-reform student organization called on the voters to boycott the polls.

    The council made clear that those who remained blacklisted have three days to appeal and that rulings would be handed down in sevendays.

    Meanwhile, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami admitted Saturday that he had hit a deadlock with the conservatives over the mass barring of candidates from the forthcoming elections.

    "We have reached a deadlock with the Guardians Council," Khatamisaid, and warned the polls cannot go ahead on the scheduled date. Enditem