The Islamic Republic of Iran

Political Institutions

Presentation Outline

II. Political Institutionsa) The Parallel Structureb)The Executive Branchc) The Legislative Branchd)The Judicial Branche)The Bonyadsf) The Basijg) The Party Systemh)The Electoral System

II. a) The Parallel Structure•President, Majles, and Assembly of Religious Experts are all directly elected by Iranian citizens•The theocratic or religious government has more power than the secular government

Influences (vetoes, dismisses

Appoints or confirms

elects

For further inquiry into Iran`s political structure see:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/iran_power/html/president.stm

II. b) The Executive Branch

• The Supreme Leader (Head of State)• The President (Head of Government)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/iran_power/html/president.stm

For further inquiry into Iran`s political structure see:

The Supreme Leader• Head of State• Elected by the Assembly of

Religious Experts for life• Can dismiss the President• Appoints both the

Expediency and Guardian Council

• Commander-in-chief of the armed forces

• Spiritual head of the state

In what way does the above picture reflect the power disparity between the Supreme Leader and the President

Left: President AhmadinejadRight: Supreme Leader Khameinei

Ayatollah KhomeiniSupreme Leader, 1979-1989

Ayatollah KhameneiSupreme Leader, 1989-present

•Led the Islamic revolution•Charismatic leader•Established theocratic regime•Led Iran in its war against Iraq•Established Basij and Revolutionary Guard

•Oversaw constitutional reforms allowing the formation of political parties and extending the suffrage to women•Supports Iran`s nuclear ambitions

The President• Head of Government• Directly elected by citizens • Limited to two 4 year terms• Appoints the Council of

Ministers• Administers the government

and economy but does not fully control foreign policy

• Can theoretically be dismissed by the Supreme Leader

Compared with the Russian and Mexican Presidents, why is the Iranian President relatively weaker

The constitutional amendments of 1989 eliminated the post of prime minister. Prior to 1989 the head of government was shared by a president and a prime minister.

1989-1997 1997-2005 2005-2013

Akbar Rafsanjani Mohammad Khatami Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Iranian Presidents since 1989

II. c) The Legislative Branch

• The Majles- democratic function

• The Guardian Council• The Expediency Council• Assembly of Religious Experts

Theocratic functions

The Majles• Directly elected every 4 years• 290 seats• Based on representation by population 5 seats are allocated to non-Muslim

minorities (Jews, Assyrians, Zoroastrians, and Armenians)

• Makes and amends legislation• Must be qualified by the Guardian Council• Can impeach the president with a

supermajority (66%+)• Many political scientists consider the Majles

a rubber stamp legislature

Is it fair to call Iran`s Majles a rubber stamp legislature. How does it compare to China`s National People`s Congress (NPC) in this regard

The Guardian Council• 12 members

• 6 appointed by the Majles

• 6 appointed by the Supreme Leader

• Vets and approves candidates for elected offices

• Can disqualify candidates from elections- this ensures that few reformists get elected

• Ensures that legislation passed by the Majles conforms to Islamic law

• Can veto legislation passed by the Majles

The Expediency Council

• Appointed by the Supreme Leader

• 31 members• Responsible for

resolving differences between the Majles and Guardian Council

• Established in 1988

The Religious Assembly of Experts

• Directly elected every 8 years• Responsible for electing and

supervising the activities of the Supreme Leader

• Can theoretically dismiss the Supreme Leader

• In theory, represents a check on the Supreme Leader`s power; in practice, does not challenged the Supreme Leader

II. d) The Judicial Branch

There is no judicial review (in the democratic sense)

The regime established a legal code in1979 which based civil and criminal law on sharia (Islamic) law

The judiciary operates under the principle of jurist guardianship (Vali-ye faqih); senior clerics are privileged with the responsibility of interpreting sharia law

The Guardian Council has both a legislative and judicial role; its judicial role is to ensure the laws passed by the Majles conform to Islamic law

Similarly, the Assembly of Religious Experts plays a judicial role in advising the Supreme Leader on constitutional issues and legal matters related to sharia law

There are various levels of courts. Ultimately, senior clerics and the Supreme Leader have the final say over judicial matters.

Iran uses an inquisitorial rather than an adversarial legal system; judges have considerably more power, and prosecutors and lawyers are largely irrelevant compared with the American or British models of justice.

Examples of criminal offenses under sharia law

• Homosexuality• Adultery• Blasphemy• Alcohol consumption

Depending on the context in which the offense was committed a person convicted of any of the above offenses could face sentences ranging from corporal punishment, to several years in prison, to the death penalty

Are these considered criminal offenses in liberal democracies, why or why not?

II. e) The bonyads

• Charitable trusts and foundations established by clerics after the 1979 revolution

• Major part of Iran’s non-petroleum economy• Constitutes approximately 20% of Iran’s GDP• Receives huge government subsidies• Exempt from taxes

Criticisms of bonyads• Originally established to provide social welfare to

Iran’s poor• Since Khomeini’s death in 1989 mostly engaged

in commercial industries: textiles soft drinks auto-manufacturing• Source of patronage and corruption; some clerics

have grown wealthy through managing various bonyads

http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/107234.pdfSource:

II. f) The Basij•Volunteer paramilitary unit composed primarily of young men, but also women and teenaged boys•responsible for enforcing morality laws•accused of suppressing dissidents•take orders directly from the Supreme Leader and Revolutionary Guard•there are approximately 1 million+ members in the Basij•receive rewards for services to their patrons: stipends preferential spots at university preferential hiring in government institutions

http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/organizations/b/basij_militia/index.html

For further inquiry see:

Above right: Basij members in military formation

Above left: Basij members beating opposition supporters during the 2009 Presidential Election

The Basij are fiercely loyal to the Supreme Leader, are strong supporters of Ahmadinejad, and defenders of Iran’s theocratic regime.

Basij men beating opposition supporters during the 2009 Presidential Election

II. g) The Party System

• Iran’s does not have an established party system

• Political parties were only officially legalized in 1989

• Many political parties appear, disappear, only to be reconstituted later

• What matters in Iran are the various political factions which essentially assume the role of political parties in Iran

Conservatives Reformists

•Staunch supporters of Islamic law•Resistant to democratization•Generally hostile to the West•Less interested in acceptance by the international community•Strong support from the Supreme Leader and clerics

•Favour more democratization•More open to better relations with the West•Interested in acceptance by the international community•Weak support from the Supreme Leader•Strong support from the middle classes, young, and more secular groups

There are two main factions in Iran’s political system. In practice, however, there are many factions, or factions within factions.

Rafsanjani AhmadinejadKhatami Mousavi

Larijani

The Supreme Leader is the head of Iran’s state, but power relationships in Iran are complex, with various factions influencing the Supreme Leader.

The Conservative faction currently dominates the Majles with a supermajority

II. h) The Electoral System

• Three direct elections

• 1) Assembly of Religious Experts

• 2) Majles

• 3) Presidential

Assembly of Religious Experts86 total seats

• Based on representation by population

• Iran is divided into 27 constituencies/regions

• Regions with greater populations such as Tehran have many seats in the Assembly (16)

• Voters choose from a list of candidates

• The top vote getters in the constituency receive the allocated seats

• A simple plurality is needed

The top 16 candidates in Tehran got seats in the Assembly:

Majles Elections

• 5/290 seats are allocated to minorities• 285/290 are contested in the general election• Iran uses SMD (single member districts)• Candidates must receive at least 25% of the vote in

the district to win the seat• Failure to reach the 25% threshold results in a

second round of voting with the top two candidates advancing

Presidential Elections• Directly elected in a state wide vote• Must receive an absolute majority (50%+) to be

elected• A second round or run-off election is needed if no

candidate can secure an absolute majority in the first round.

What other state that we studied this year uses this system?

Discussion Questions

1) Why does Iran’s President have much less power than Mexico’s?

2) Although Iran has some democratic elements in its system, why do political scientists consider Iran and authoritarian system, rather than an illiberal democracy like Russia?

3) In what respect has the regime created institutions that ensure its survival?