Reality of democracy in the Islamic Republic of Iran – World Countries for Kids
Just like democratic nations, elections are held regularly in the Islamic Republic of Iran, but they fall far short of democratic standards due in part to the undue influence of the hard-line Guardian Council, an unelected body that prohibits all candidates it deems inadequately loyal to the clerical establishment. Ultimate power rests in the hands of the nation’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the unelected institutions under him. These institutions, including the judiciary and the security forces, play a key role in the suppression of dissent and other restrictions on civil liberties. Iranian authorities have maintained a protracted suppression after the anti-government “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests, which were triggered by the 2022 death of Jina Mahsa Amini at the hands of the morality police, happened that year.
The supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has no fixed term, is the highest authority in the republic. He is just not the commander in chief of the armed forces but also appoints the head of the judiciary, the heads of state broadcast media, and the Expediency Council (which mediates disputes between the Guardian Council and the parliament). He also appoints half dozen members of the Guardian Council; the other half dozen are jurists nominated by the head of the judiciary and confirmed by the parliament. All Guardian Council members are appointed for six-year terms but can be appointed multiple times. The Assembly of Experts appoints and monitors the work of the supreme leader but in practice supreme leader’s decisions seem to go unchallenged by the assembly, whose proceedings are kept confidential. The present supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, succeeded Islamic Republic founder Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.
The president, the second-highest-ranking official of the Islamic Republic, appoints a cabinet that needs to be confirmed by the parliament. He is elected by popular vote for maximum two consecutive four-year terms. Masoud Pezeshkian was sworn in as Iran’s 9th president on 30th July 2024. He vowed to work to remove sanctions. He replaced Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash in May. “I as the president, in front of the holy Quran and the people of Iran, swear to almighty God to be the guardian of the official religion and the Islamic Republic system and the constitution of the country,” said Pezeshkian at the ceremony broadcast live on state TV.
Elections for the parliament (Majles-e Shoraye Eslami), a single-chamber legislature, is held every four years. It has 290 members. The 88 member assembly of experts (Majlis-e Khobregan) is the lone body with the power to appoint, supervise and dismiss the Supreme Leader. It is elected every eight years. On 1st March 2024, Iranians voted in elections for its parliament and for its Assembly of Experts. They were the very first elections held in the republic since the widespread protests in 2022/23 that followed the death of Mahsa Amini. The new parliament and assembly will once again be dominated by conservative and hard-line political factions. Turnout was quite low. Observers reason this is a sign that societal disillusionment with governing elites remains high.