Political+Institutions

Seb Ritz Jonathan Yu

**Levels of Government**

 * =====Provinces-districts-sub districts- local=====
 * =====Unitary State=====
 * =====Centralized=====



**Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hoseyni Khāmene’i (Supreme Leader)**

 * is responsible for the "general policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran"
 * commander in chief of the armed forces and intelligence and security operations
 * has power to appoint or dismiss leader of judiciary, tv networks, and supreme commander of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.


 * determines which candidates are qualified to run for office

**Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (President)**

 * second highest ranking official
 * has very little power, most power is given to Supreme Leader
 * sets Iran's economic policies
 * 8 vice presidents and a cabinet of 22 members serve under the president

= **Legislatures** =

Parliament (majlis)

 * 290 seats that are publicly elected every 4 years media type="youtube" key="h94XzKU7oWc" height="283" width="378" align="right"
 * unicameral
 * drafts legislation, ratifies international treaties, and approves the budget
 * Council of Guardians **
 * 12 members (6 appointed by supreme leader, rest appointed by parliament)
 * determines if laws passed by parliament are in line with sharia (Islamic law)
 * has effective veto power over parliament


 * Expediency Council **
 * 34 members
 * charged with mediating disputes between majlis and Council of Guardians


 * serves as the advisory body to supreme leader
 * headed by former president Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
 * majority of its members are from the conservative party

**Elections**

 * ======President elected by people for a four year term======
 * evidence of possible rigged election in 2009
 * although people can vote, elections are public and many social pressures are on voters
 * elections and voting is controlled by state officials
 * ======Members of Parliament elected by people for four year terms======
 * anyone who wants to run for office must be confirmed by Guardian Council
 * ======Election for Assembly of Experts held every 6 years (assembly of Experts elect supreme leader and must be approved by Guardian Council)======
 * must be 18 to vote (used to be 15 but was changed



**Electoral system**

 * Voting age is 18
 * 2 Agencies involved in electoral process
 * 1) Supervising Council - global supervisory role
 * 2) Ministry of the Interior (MI) - electoral administration
 * Iran has 669 districts, each with own District Administrator; 330 counties each with own governor
 * Before election, Electoral Executive Committees are created, compromised of electoral governor/administrator, district/county attorney, civil registry chief, and 8 civilians
 * Electoral Executive Committees are responsible for number and location of voting booths, informing public about elections, selecting workers, etc.
 * Surveillance Council establishes a Central Monitoring Committee- 2 members of Council and 5 others, supervises entire election. Has right to annul/suspend election nationwide or in only specific places

**__President__**

 * 1) Iranian Origin, Iranian citizenship
 * 2) Good reputation
 * 3) Qualified to protect the Republic
 * 4) Believe in Islam and Islamic principles
 * 5) Person with political //and// religious background
 * 6) No age or education requirements
 * List of candidates is sent to MI-disqualify names for not meeting certain requirements, then the final list is made public.
 * Campaigns are allowed to continue up the 24 hours before the election.
 * Voting is private and done with national identification book or Shenasnameh.
 * President determined by majority. If there is no majority, a second round of voting occurs between the 2 candidates receiving the most amount of votes This second election occurs 1 week after the first election.
 * Guardian Council has power to veto all candidates of parliamentary elections, presidency, and Assembly of Experts
 * Supreme Leader=Head of State; President=Prime Minister

**Political Parties**
__**list of Authorized parties/groups in Iran**__
 * Two main groups: Conservatives and Reformists
 * since 2009 only conservative group has been able to participate, Reformist groups banned and members jailed
 * 1) Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran
 * 2) Islamic Coalition Party
 * 3) Islamic Society of Engineers
 * 4) Executives of Construction Party

__**list of Unauthorized parties due to accusation of spies and work against Islam**__
 * 1) Islamic Iran Participation Front
 * 2) National Confidence Party
 * 3) Freedom Movement Party
 * 4) National Front of Iran
 * lots of parties in the past have tried to form and overthrow regime-but failed
 * 74 political parties outside of Iran-fled from Regime

**Bureaucracies**
Heavy amounts of clerics in the Bureaucracy, has actually gone down over time, but still command a majority Many Ministries
 * Agriculture
 * Commerce
 * Culture and Islamic Guidance
 * Defense
 * Economic affairs and Finance
 * Education
 * Energy
 * Foreign Affairs
 * Health
 * Housing and Urban Development
 * Information and Communications Technology
 * Intelligence and Security
 * Interior
 * Justice
 * Labor and Social Affairs
 * Industries and Mines
 * Petroleum
 * Science, Research and Technology
 * Research Centers and Scientific Institutions
 * Transportation
 * Public Relations
 * and others

**Military**

 * Iran has the worlds 8th largest military
 * possesses one of the largest missile inventories in the Middle East
 * 540,000 personnel in the military
 * Military is made up of Army, Navy, Air Force, and Revolutionary Guard
 * Revolutionary Guard maintains internal order whereas regular army controls borders
 * mandatory military service for men at the age of 18 for 20 months



**M. Judiciaries**
The Judiciary is based on Sharia law, or Islamic law-the moral and legal code of Islam. They come from the Koran and the precedents set by the prophet Mohammed. The Judicial system of Iran is "an independent power". The Head of the Judiciary is appointed by the Supreme Leader. The title for the Chief Justice is Mujtahid. He serves for a period of 5 years, and is tasked to establish the organization structure of the judicial system, hiring/firing judges-must have a trial to be fired, among others. The current Head Justice is Sadeq Larijani who has served since 2009. The Highest Judicial System is the High Council of Justice which is compromised of 5 judges who serve 5 year, renewable terms. The entire judicial system is theocratic, meaning the judges have to be well versed in Sharia law.

Special Courts


 * 1) Clerical Courts- handles cases involving clerics. Accountable only to the Supreme Leader.
 * 2) Revolutionary Courts- deals with internal/external security of the nation, uttering slander against The Founders of Iran and the Honorable Leader, conspiracy against Iran, use of terrorism/weapons against Iran, espionage, and smuggling and narcotics.
 * 3) Regular Courts-civil and criminal cases


 * Qualified to protect the Republic**

Analysis of Iranian Political System:

It can be clearly seen the the Iranian government is divided into institutions which are elected by the people and into institutions that are unelected. However, it became clear very early on that the majority of the power is in the hands of the unelected side, and in particularly the Supreme leader. The Supreme leader has the ability to chose candidates for elections in the judiciary, civil government, and military and in return has the power to determine who rules the country of Iran. He is elected by the Assembly of experts which is elected by the people. All candidates running for office must be approved by the Guardian Council which is in return elected by the supreme leader. Although the country of Iran does elect its president and some officials it is the Supreme leader, with the most power, that is not directly elected. There have been many complaints in the recent 2009 election that voting was controlled by the state officials who helped fill out ballots for those who could not read. Voting is also done in public, with no booths and so social pressure to vote for the right candidate could influence a voters decision. Regarding the bureaucracy, it acts similarly to bureaucracies in other countries where most bureaucrats stay in power despite regime changes. The bureaucracy should still hold power and keep some stability in the government even even if there are radical changes in the government. As for the Judicial system, as long as Iran remains highly theocratic, the courts will follow Islamic law whilst also deferring to the Ayatollah on most controversial, publicized topics. The head judge being appointed by the Ayatollah will not help the court gain its judicial independence from the theocratic state.

Sources:

http://countrystudies.us/iran/80.htm http://www.nationmaster.com/country/ir-iran/mil-military http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_parties_in_Iran http://articles.cnn.com/2009-06-15/world/iran.elections.qa_1_amir-taheri-votes-cast-presidential-elections?_s=PM:WORLD