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With no resolution to post-election turmoil in sight, Iranians are questioning the ability of the republic's current institutions - religious and political - to respond to some of the nation's most critical challenges.
This issue of the Iran Bulletin explores the rise of the clerical opposition’s voice and what one Iranian sees as the silence of the potentially powerful parliament and the Assembly of Experts. It also details the final list of cabinet nominees President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently presented that now awaits parliamentary confirmation.
Iran
Iran’s current political system is based on the 1979 constitution, which was passed by a popular vote referendum after the Iranian revolution. The revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini transformed Iran from a constitutional monarchy to a theocratic republic that intricately links Shari’ah, or Islamic law, to constitutional law with elected and appointed leaders.
Power is largely consolidated within a few governing bodies. The Supreme Leader, Iran’s highest ranking political, military and religious authority, and the Guardian Council, an appointed body of law specialists and clerics, have the ability to veto any legislation if they interpret the law as being incompatible with the constitution or Shari’ah. Additionally, the Guardian Council can disqualify any candidate from running for public office. In the 1997 presidential elections, the Guardian Council disqualified all but four of the 230 declared candidates.
The 2005 presidential elections were widely viewed as neither free nor fair and further revealed the rivalry between reform-minded activists, advocating the liberalization of the economy and human rights, and conservatives, concerned that the further opening of Iran would threaten the Islamic Republic. Mohammed Khatami won the two preceding elections on a platform of liberation and reform, promoting freedom of expression, free market economy and diplomatic relationships, but his failure to pass reform legislation opened the door for conservatives in the 2005 elections. Current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the election in a run-off with former president Rafsanjani, a centrist politician. The next presidential election is scheduled for June 2009, and is shaping into another showdown between reformers and conservatives.
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