iran: political institutions
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Iran: Political Institutions. Lenny Dong. 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 - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Lenny DongIRAN: POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS
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
ONE MAN ABOVE ALL OTHERS THE SUPREME LEADER
Current Supreme Leader:Ayatollah Seyyed Ali
Khamenei
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
HEAD OF EXECUTIVETHE PRESIDENT
Current President: Hassan Rouhani
AKA Council of Guardians12-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
GUARDIAN COUNCIL
State emblem of the Islamic Republic of
Iran
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 partCandidates must pass an
examination on religious knowledge, and are chosen by the Guardian Council
ASSEMBLY OF (RELIGIOUS) EXPERTS
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)
Unicameral290 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
PARLIAMENT “MAJLES”
(ISLAMIC CONSULTATIVE ASSEMBLY)
The current speaker, Ali Larijani, is a former chief nuclear negotiator
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
EXPEDIENCY COUNCIL
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 formationPolitical 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
PARTIES
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
Sadeq Larijani (Chief Justice of Iran) – Independent
CURRENT POLITICIANS & PARTY
Almost an election a yearEligible 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
ELECTIONS
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
THE JUDICIARY
Current head of judiciary: Sadeq Larijani
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
LEGAL SYSTEM
Revolutionary Guards: Formed after the revolution to
protect new leaders and institutions
Maintains internal security Top brass is usually loyal to
the supreme leaderRegular army:
Safeguards borders (international)
Commanders are appointed by the Supreme Leader
MILITARY
Revolutionary Guards
Influential economic player Has control over strategic industries, commercial services
and black-market enterprises Controls roughly $12 billion in construction and engineering
capitalOriginally a “people’s army”, similar to the US
National GuardFormed in 1979 as a counterweight to the regular
military and to avoid a coupControls Iran’s Basij Resistance ForcesHas the Quds Force as the paramilitary arm which
acts as external affairs branch.
REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS
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
BASIJ
Very little is knownCreated during the Iran-Iraq war10,000 to 15,000 personnel as of 2013Mandate is to conduct foreign policy missionsSupported terrorist activities and armed pro-Iranian
militant groups across the Mideast and beyondProvided support to the Kurds fighting Saddam
HusseinPrimary goal: Support foreign Islamic
revolutionary movements
QUDS FORCE
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www.crethip lethi .com/iran-ayatol lah-rafsanjani - faces-a-vote-on-his- future/ is lamic-countr ies/ i ran- is lamic-countr ies/2011/
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volunteer-corps/#/0
6. http:/ /news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi /8051750.stm7. http:/ /www.cfr.org/ i ran/ irans-revolut ionary-guards/p143248. http:/ /www.globalsecur ity.org/mil i tary/wor ld/ i ran/edc.htm9. http:/ /www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/f ront l ine/shows/tehran/ ins ide/govt.html10. http:/ /www.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/world/middleeast/ in - iran-r ivalry-khamene
i-takes-on-pres idency- i tse l f.html?ref=world&_r=0
11. http:/ /i ranprimer.us ip .org/resource/basi j - res istance-force12. http:/ /www.globalsecur ity.org/ inte l l /world/ i ran/qods.htm13. http:/ /i ranprimer.us ip .org/resource/revolut ionary-guards14. http:/ /
news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl /h i /middle_east/03/ i ran_power/html/expediency_counci l .stm
15. http:/ /www.iranonl ine.com/iran/ iran- info/government/Expediency.html
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