diff --git a/ceci/stage.py b/ceci/stage.py
index c9b453d..1e5a264 100644
--- a/ceci/stage.py
+++ b/ceci/stage.py
@@ -571,7 +571,7 @@ def parse_command_line(cls, cmd=None):
                 raise ValueError(mpi_err)
             ret_args = parser.parse_args()
         else:
-            if ("--mpi" in cmd and not cls.parallel):
+            if ("--mpi" in cmd) and not cls.parallel:
                 raise ValueError(mpi_err)
             ret_args = parser.parse_args(cmd)