Iran's election questions
- By Jin Liangxiang
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E-mail China.org.cn, May 19, 2013
In less than one month, the Islamic Republic of Iran will hold its 11th presidential election. The country's presidential election, together with its parliamentary election, is the product of the Islamic revolution of 1979, and is also an important part of the Islamic republic's political system.
Questions remain in the West as to the legitimacy and genuineness of Iran's elections, and the presidential election in particular.
However, Iran's political system does share some features with the political systems of Western, aside from its religious system consisting of the Supreme Leader and Guardian Council, which oversees the qualifications of the candidates in both the presidential and parliamentary elections. A significant part of the power of the regime is distributed among three major branches: administration, legislature and judiciary. The three branches also work by checking and balancing each other.
Also, as in most Western countries, Iran's presidential election follows the one-person-one-vote model and even electoral procedures are almost the same as those seen in Western countries. Candidates must register their candidacy prior to the election campaign and, once it commences they embark on publicizing their policies to attract voters in the same way as Western election candidates do.
In 2009, the election committee also organized televised debates during which candidates could both elaborate on their policy ideas but also question and challenge the other candidates. Iran learned this format from observing election campaigns in the U.S.
Iran's presidential election regulations are also similar to those of the West. For instance, Western elections do not allow candidates to use administrative resources for campaign purposes and in Iran, people who hold official posts are not allowed to support candidates. That is why Mahmoud Ahamedinejad is currently facing harsh criticism for supporting one of his close aides, Rahim Mashaei. He accompanied Mashaei on May 11 when Mashaei went to register for the election at the Interior Ministry.
The political functions of the election are also almost the same as those in the West. The country's presidential election is one of the sources of the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in addition to religious ideology and government performance. After all, Iran is not only "Islamic" it is also a "republic" and all Iranians, from the political elites to the general public, take it very seriously. Politicians, whether conservative or reformist by ideology, look to realize their personal and national ambitions via presidential elections, while the public can also express their views and wishes for the country as they cast their vote for the candidate of their choice. The country's enthusiasm for its elections is clear from the number of registered candidates and participants in recent elections.
In 2005, 1014 hopefuls registered for election, and 10 finally passed qualification scrutiny; in 2009, 475, among whom 42 were women, registered for the campaign and 4 were finally chosen to contest the election itself; the 11th presidential election in 2013 witnessed 680 Iran nationals registering for the election. Public participation in Iranian election is also considerable. For instance, in the 10th election in 2009, 40 million eligible voters out of Iran's population of approximately 75 million people participated in the election.
It is true that no electoral system is perfect and Iran's is no exception. In fact, it may even be said that Iran's electoral system has some very serious problems, especially where intuitions are concerned. Iran's Guardian Council, which consists of six law experts and six religious jurists, is generally considered as the conservative element in Iran's Islamic system.
The council usually disqualifies some of the hopeful reformist candidates both in parliamentary and presidential elections so as to maintain ideological security and ensure support for conservative candidates. Supreme Leader Ali Khameinei and other ayatollahs may also use the platform provided by Friday prayers to influence elections in favor of conservative candidates, whose positions closely mirror those of the ayatollahs.
The political significance of the Iranian presidential election should not, however, be overestimated. Presidential elections might mean a change in the daily management of the nation, since they will install a person with different personalities and political and economic backgrounds.
The president, however, does not exercise complete authority over the nation. The country's Supreme Leader has not only substantial influence over the presidential election itself but also a final say on any critical decisions, especially those relating to Iran's defense and foreign policy.
The West always anticipates that Iran's foreign policy will alter in the wake of a presidential election. For instance, when the news broke that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had defeated the reformist candidates in Iran's 2009 election, the West, from decision makers to media, vehemently joined opposition attempts to protest the election result, as they had hoped that a more reform-minded president might soften the country's foreign policy.
Whoever becomes the next president, Iran's positions on major issues will not change fundamentally and in terms of the nuclear issue, there is little chance that Iran will relinquish its "legitimate rights" as prescribed in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:
http://china.org.cn/opinion/jinliangxiang.htm
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