In a national referendum shortly after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, an overwhelming majority of over 98% of Iranians voted for the establishment of an Islamic Republic. The Islamic Republic was subsequently institutionalized in a new Constitution drafted by an elected Assembly of Experts (Majlis-e-Khubregan) and was subsequently ratified by the populace in a national vote on December 2-3, 1979. Iran's Constitution is a unique document in light of the fact that it exemplifies an authentic attempt to present an Islamic alternative to existing political systems. A distinctive feature of the Islamic tradition is the belief that Islam is a total, comprehensive way of life. Islam has an integral, organic relationship to politics and society. Therefore, Islam provides a normative system in which religion is integral to all areas of Muslim life - politics, economics, law, education and the family.
From an economic and social standpoint, Iran's post-revolutionary Constitution has been drafted in a manner by which a positive role for Government has been foreseen so as to set favorable macro-policies and in establishing micro-support programs which can enable the economy to realize its full potential in creating wealth. The drafters of Iran' s Constitution took into account social, cultural and political factors so that Iran's opportunity potentials could be fully utilized. A key aspect of the Constitution is the provision of a framework for the citizenry to partake and influence the conduct and operations of all aspects of the government. Article 3 of the Constitution obligates the government to provide for the " participation of all the people in determining their political, social, and cultural destiny" with Article 7 further declaring participation in the decision making processes of the administration of the country as one of the most essential conditions for establishing a participatory system and identifies various types of consultative councils as decision making organs. A subsequent Councils Law (which will be explored in greater depth ahead in this Chapter) has provided these Councils with broad based discretion and power in the fulfillment of their duties.
The polity envisaged by the post-revolution Constitution was to eliminate the likelihood of concentration of power and the provision of a means by which the masses could perpetually participate in the administration of state affairs. The system that thus emerged consists of three elected institutions and five nominated or indirectly approved institutions. The structure of the political system is as follows:
THE VELAYAT FAQIH ( LEADER SHIP )
In keeping with the Islamic principles of governance (Velayat - al - amr), the Constitution provides for the establishment of leadership by a Faqih (Jurisprudent) possessing the following necessary qualifications: scholarship, piety, political and social perspicacity, courage, determination, and the necessary administrative abilities for leadership. Thus the Vali-e-Faqih (Supreme Jurisprudent) is one who supervises and correlates Government policies with divine decrees. In this way, he is responsible for this concordance before God and his people.
Second to the Leader in the hierarchy of office is the "Council of Guardians" (Shuray-e-Negahban). The Council is composed of six theologians appointed by the Leader, and six jurists qualified in Law nominated by the Judiciary for approval by the Parliament. The Council reviews the laws passed by the Parliament so as to determine whether they are in conformity with Islamic Religious Law (the Sharia) and the provisions of the Constitution. If they are not, the Council has the authority to veto them. Decisions as to whether a given law is constitutional are to be made by a consensus comprising of all 12 Council members whereas the question of conformity with Islamic Sharia is decided via a majority vote of the theologians. The Council also oversees Presidential & Parliamentary elections as well as plebiscites. In the case of conflicting interpretations in the clauses of the Constitution, the Council is empowered to give a binding ruling on what it considers to be the correct interpretation.
The Assembly of Experts (Majlis -e-Khubregan) is a 72 member body elected by popular vote. Its members comprise of the nation's leading jurists and scholars of Islamic jurisprudence. Having originally drafted the Islamic Republic's Constitution, the Assembly carries the mandate of filling any vacancy in the post of Velayat Faqih. The most recent elections of this body took place in October 1998 and was highlighted by the participation of over 15,000,000 voters across Iran.
The Expediency Council (Majma-e-Tashkhis-e-Maslehat Nezam) was established via Article 112 of the Constitution with the aim of mediating issues pertaining to the interpretation of Law in case of differences of opinion between the Parliament and the Guardians Council. The members of the Expediency Council are appointed directly by the Leader.
The newest feature of the Iranian political system has been the formation
of City and Village Councils. Article 7 of the Iranian Constitution declares
participation by the citizenry in decision making as the most important
condition for the establishment of a
participatory system and identifies several types of popularly elected
consultative councils as the means for ensuring mass participation. As
such, February 26 1999 marked the first ever holding of national elections
for city, town and council elections and many pundits are of the view that
this date will go down in Iranian history as the date of one of the most
important socio-political events of Iranian history. In effect, the elections
marked for the first time in Iran's 2,500 year old history the transfer
of authority over the administration of cities and villages from the Central
Government to the citizenry. These Councils will serve as agents of transparency
as their functions are broad based and encompass an amalgamation of responsibilities
including inter alia: the supervision and audit of the income and expenditures
of the municipalities; approval of loans to and from the Municipalities;
endorsement or rejection of Articles of Associations and other legal matters
of companies and institutions affiliated to the Municipalities, election
of mayors; study of social, cultural, educational, health, economic, and
welfare requirements of their constituencies; the planning and coordination
of national participation in the implementation of social, economic, constructive
, cultural, educational and other welfare affairs.
THE THREE SOVEREIGN BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT
The Iranian Constitution affirms the division of power into Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches. These divisions are structured within the following framework:
The President of the Islamic Republic is elected by a direct vote of the nation for a four year term and is eligible for a second four year term. Presidential candidates must be Iranian nationals "enterprising of a good background and be pious and honest". The Constitution assigns the President as the Head of the Council of Ministers and charges him with direct responsibility for planning and budgetary affairs, although each of these duties may be delegated at the President's discretion. The cabinet comprises of some twenty one Ministers. Members of the Cabinet must to be approved individually by the Parliament and are accountable for their actions. The Parliament may censure each Minister and call for dismissal of any number of Ministers at any time.
The Second Year of the Khatami Administration: An Overview
" The secret of the nation's success over the past two decades since the victory of the Islamic Revolution has been the strong bond between the leadership and the people, and the nation's insistence on Islamic values".
These word were spoken by Iran's President Seyed Mohammad Khatami to millions of people gathered in Tehran's Azadi Square as Iranians celebrated their second decade of Republicanism. Elected with a mandate of 20,000, 000 votes from a total of the 30,000,000 votes that were cast in Iran's seventh Presidential elections in May 1997 and, on the threshold of his second year in office, the President's policies have emerged into what some political pundits have termed the 'Khatami Doctrine.' The institutionalization of the rule of law, transparency, full observance of civil rights and political development have been amongst the most important priorities of his administration. Nowhere has this been as apparent as in the recently Islamic Council elections which symbolized in effect, the transfer of the central governments authority over municipalities across Iran to the people.
Such commitments to social and political issues have also become inextricably
linked to the President's efforts to reform Iran's post-war economy. According
to the President, social justice and economic prosperity are not possible
unless there is a productive utilization of Iran's human resources, creation
of suitable institutional framework and an overall reform of the nation's
distribution system. These steps combined with the development of 'proficient
system governing non-oil exports', greater increases in national savings,
increased value added of Iranian industries, and the better utilization
of oil resources for infrastructural development have been continuously
emphasized as major policy goals aimed at enabling Iran's economy to make
greater strides in today's global economy as well as to provide a legacy
for future generations of Iranians whom the President has referred to as
the " actual inheritors of the country's oil resources". These statements
have been translated into actual policy as witnessed by stepped up efforts
towards the attraction of foreign investment and capital, including Iran's
overseas expatriates, bureaucratic
and administrative reform, easing of red tape and tax reform. Highlights
of these steps include the designation of 4,000 state companies and enterprises
for either privatization (of which the shares of 190 of these companies
have already been prepared for flotation in the Tehran Stock Exchange)
or if for lack of economic viability, dissolution. The re-structuring of
several key Ministries, including Mines and Metals and Oil are also currently
under implementation. A linchpin of these strategies has been to support
and boost non-oil exports so as to reduce reliance on crude oil exports
which make up nearly 85% of the country's revenues in hard currency. (For
a comprehensive look at President Khatami's economic recovery plans please
refer to Chapter 2).
In foreign policy, President Khatami's outlooks can be summed up by
his declaration that the "The Islamic System is the proponent of true peace.
We want a world in which relations between nations and governments are
based on logic and mutual respect, not force. We will not yield to force".
In an era in which the members of Western Intelligentsia have been calling
the 'Clash of Civilization's, President Khatami' has in place introduced
a policy referred to as the 'Dialogue between Civilizations' culminating
in the designation by the United Nations of the year 2001 as the "Year
of Dialogue between Civilizations". President Khatami's foreign policy
initiatives have not only served to develop Iran's bilateral relations
with countries across the globe based on mutual respect, but has also served
to elevate its stature and presence on the international scene. Such developments
are reflected by the growing stature of Tehran as a political and economic
center which is evidenced by the holding of the Organization of the Islamic
Summit in Tehran (which marked Iran's Presidency of the Organization),
expansion of comprehensive ties with Arab, Islamic and EU States and the
visits of the key leaders of most of these states to Tehran. A highlight
of these developments has been the visit of Italian Prime Minister Romano
Prodi to Iran followed by President Khatami's reciprocal landmark visit
to Italy, the first visit by an Iranian Head of State to an European nation
since 1979. It was during this visit that a momentous meeting was held
between President Khatami and Pope John Paul the Second in which the two
underscored the need for the further development of dialogue between the
two civilizations of Islam and Christianity.
The Parliament of Iran, better known as the Islamic Consultative Assembly, (Majlis-Shora-e-Islami) is composed of over 270 elected deputies representing various constituencies. The Constitution provides for an increase in the number of Majlis seats every 10 years based on "demographic, political, geographical and similar factors" and limits the number of new seats to a maximum of 20 every 10 years.
Elections to the Majlis are held every four years and sessions are run by a governing board comprised of a Speaker, a First and Second Deputy Speaker, a Secretary and two Board Members. There are 22 permanent committees that oversee all aspects of governmental, socio - legal affairs, accounting and public petitions.
The Judiciary in Iran is completely independent of the executive and
legislative branches. The Minister of Justice acts merely as a liaison
between the Judiciary and the other two branches. Instead, the Judiciary
is headed by an individual appointed by the Leader for a five year tenure.
According to the Constitution, the Head of the Judiciary must be "a just
jurisprudent, well versed in judicial affairs, resourceful and possessing
managerial skills."
