Iran: Political Institutions

1. Iran: Political Institutions Lenny Dong

2. One man above all others the supreme leader • Single handedly the most powerful political figure in the country • Can: • Overrule or dismiss the president • Appoint the head of the judiciary and half of the Guardian Council • Appoint commanders of the all branches of military • Is entrusted with the task of ensuring that laws conform to Islam • Originally had to be the highest-ranking Shiite cleric  now just has to be a member of the clergy Current Supreme Leader: Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei

3. Head of ExecutiveThe President • Directly elected by voters • Needs an absolute majority of votes, so run-off if no majority • Term is four years, term limit of two • After the an amendment in 1989, the presidency was strengthened, and the office of prime minister was removed • Powers: • Chooses members of his cabinet, which are approved by the parliament • Presents legislation to the parliament • Upholds the constitution • Coordinates government decisions Current President: Hassan Rouhani

4. Guardian Council • AKA Council of Guardians • 12-member council that can veto any legislation passed by the parliament • Determines who can run in local, presidential, parliamentary, and Assembly of Religious Experts elections (vets candidates) • Six theologians appointed by the Supreme Leader and six jurists nominated by the Head of the Judiciary and approved by the parliament • Six-year terms State emblem of the Islamic Republic of Iran

5. Assembly of (religious) Experts • 86-member male assembly(sorry no females allowed) • Charged with appointing and evaluating the performance of the Supreme Leader • Popularly elected, but… • Consists of clerics for the most part • Candidates must pass an examination on religious knowledge, and are chosen by the Guardian Council Former Iranian president and head of Iran's Assembly of Experts, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (C), delivers a speech during a meeting of the top clerical body in Tehran on September 14, 2010 (Photo: ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

6. Parliament “Majles” (Islamic Consultative Assembly) • Unicameral • 290 deputies elected for four-year terms • Can introduce and pass laws • Can summon and impeach ministers or the president • Bills have to be approved by the Guardian Council • Not always rubberstamp – fierce debates take place in the parliament • The constitution mandates small religious minorities have to have seats reserved in the parliament • Directly elected in multi-member and single member districts The current speaker, Ali Larijani, is a former chief nuclear negotiator

7. Expediency council • AKA Council for the Expediency of the State • Created by the Supreme Leader in 1988 to settle disputes between the Guardian Council and the parliament • 24 leading political personalities in the country • Resolves disputes in a way that best serves the interest of the system • Appointed for three-year terms • Composed of: • Heads of three branches of government • Six clerical members of the Guardian council • Others appointed by the Supreme Leader

8. Parties • Islamic Republic Party, the most important post-revolutionary political party, was dissolved in 1987 because of internal disputes • Later there was a ban on any party formation • Political parties were legalized in 1998, but the parties are still at an early stage of development (fluid, multi-party system) • Largest reform party is the Islamic Iran Participation Front

9. Current Politicians & party • Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei (Supreme Leader) – Combatant Clergy Association • Hassan Rouhani (President) – Moderation and Development Party • Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani(Chairman of the Expediency Council) – Executives of Construction Party • SadeqLarijani (Chief Justice of Iran) – Independent

10. Elections • Almost an election a year • Eligible voters have increased from 20 million people in 1979 to over 46 million in 2004. (50 million as of 2013) • Although candidates were vetted, elections are still very competitive with high voter turnout (72% in the 2013 presidential election) • “Reformist” candidates are usually, if not always, disqualified by the Guardian Council • Universal suffrage from age of 18 since 2007

11. The judiciary • Highly controversial • The court system should be independent, but since the Supreme Leader appoints the Head of the Judiciary, the judges will almost always be uniformly conservative clerics • Religious zealots also known as Hezbollahis(members of the Party of God) serve as watchdogs of the clerical establishment • Recent years, the judicial system has been used to undermine reforms by imprisoning reformists and closing down reformist papers • Head of Judiciary gets to appoint 6 members of the Guardian Council Current head of judiciary: SadeqLarijani

12. Legal system • Sharia was restored as the core of the legal system after the 1979 revolution • The 1979 constitution codified “Islamic law” as “state law” • Full of contradiction, which gave rise to debates concerning the politics of Iranian legal arrangements • This allows the Guardian Council to vet out candidates who aren’t favorable

13. Military • Revolutionary Guards: • Formed after the revolution to protect new leaders and institutions • Maintains internal security • Top brass is usually loyal to the supreme leader • Regular army: • Safeguards borders (international) • Commanders are appointed by the Supreme Leader Revolutionary Guards

14. Revolutionary Guards • Influential economic player • Has control over strategic industries, commercial services and black-market enterprises • Controls roughly $12 billion in construction and engineering capital • Originally a “people’s army”, similar to the US National Guard • Formed in 1979 as a counterweight to the regular military and to avoid a coup • Controls Iran’s Basij Resistance Forces • Has the Quds Force as the paramilitary arm which acts as external affairs branch.

15. Basij • A paramilitary volunteer corps • Originally a fighting group in the 1980-88 war with Iraq • Currently a grass-roots defender of the system: • Roles such as Islamic morality police at check points • Shock troops dealing with pro-reform gatherings • Can be found in all governmental bodies, universities and schools. • Volunteers enjoy favorable treatment from the government

16. Quds force • Very little is known • Created during the Iran-Iraq war • 10,000 to 15,000 personnel as of 2013 • Mandate is to conduct foreign policy missions • Supported terrorist activities and armed pro-Iranian militant groups across the Mideast and beyond • Provided support to the Kurds fighting Saddam Hussein • Primary goal: Support foreign Islamic revolutionary movements

19. Sources • http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/06/28/weekinreview/marsh_grfk_1260x943.jpg • http://www.3quarksdaily.com/.a/6a00d8341c562c53ef0115701f6c3b970c-800wi • http://www.crethiplethi.com/iran-ayatollah-rafsanjani-faces-a-vote-on-his-future/islamic-countries/iran-islamic-countries/2011/ • http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/1594.html • http://framework.latimes.com/2014/02/03/photo-essay-iran-paramilitary-basij-volunteer-corps/#/0 • http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8051750.stm • http://www.cfr.org/iran/irans-revolutionary-guards/p14324 • http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/edc.htm • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/tehran/inside/govt.html • http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/world/middleeast/in-iran-rivalry-khamenei-takes-on-presidency-itself.html?ref=world&_r=0 • http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/basij-resistance-force • http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/world/iran/qods.htm • http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/revolutionary-guards • http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/iran_power/html/expediency_council.stm • http://www.iranonline.com/iran/iran-info/government/Expediency.html