Post electoral analysis: Iran Legislative elections 21st February 2020 (original) (raw)

10th Majlis Election in Iran: Structural, Institutional, Legal, and Political Issues

Abstract The 10th Majlis election was held in the Islamic Republic of Iran on 26 February 2016. The election witnessed a record number of disqualified candidates by the Guardian Council. Notwithstanding this, the pro-government candidates were well-received by the voters. President Hassan Rouhani’s foreign policy and the nuclear deal that had concluded with the international community, held a special place in the political debates during the election. This paper first analyses the importance of the 10th Majlis election in Iran in the light of President Rouhani’s foreign policy. Secondly, it explores the election process. This paper argues that elections in Iran suffer from four types of issues. First characteristic is closely linked with the theocratic nature of the Iranian political system. Second one is connected with the Iranian electoral system. Third one arises from the inefficiency of electoral institutions. Finally, those issues caused by the discriminative approach of the Iranian ruling elites towards certain political parties and ethno religious groups. "İran’da Onuncu Meclis Seçimleri: Yapısal, Kurumsal, Yasal ve Siyasal Sorunlar" Özet İran İslam Cumhuriyeti, 26 Şubat 2016 tarihinde onuncu meclis seçimini gerçekleştirdi. Seçim, Anayasa Koruyucuları Konseyi tarafından rekor sayıda adayın elenmesine tanık oldu. Buna rağmen, hükümet yanlısı üyeler, seçmenler tarafından çok olumlu karşılandılar. Cumhurbaşkanı Hasan Ruhani’nin dış politika ve nükleer enerji konularında uluslararası toplumla anlaşmaya varması, seçim süreci boyunca yaşanan siyasal tartışmalarda önemli bir yer tutmuştur. Bu çalışma, ilk olarak Cumhurbaşkanı Ruhani’nin izlediği dış politika ışığında İran’daki onuncu meclis seçimlerinin önemini analiz etmektedir. İkinci olarak seçim sürecini ele almaktadır. Bu makale İran’daki seçimlerin dört farklı sorunla karşı karşıya kaldığını iddia etmektedir. Birincisi İran siyasal sisteminin teokratik doğasıyla yakından bağlantılıdır. İkinci sorun İran seçim sistemiyle ilgili olup üçüncüsü seçim kuruluşlarının yetersizliği sebebiyle ortaya çıkmıştır. Sonuncusu ise İran’ın yönetici seçkinlerinin belirli siyasal partilere ve etnik-dini gruplara yönelik dışlayıcı yaklaşımından kaynaklanmıştır.

THE PRACTICAL DIMENSIONS OF THE ELECTORAL PROCESS IN IRANIAN POLITICS

artcle, 2024

The Iranian presidential elections on June 28, 2024 feature six candidates approved by the Guardian Council out of 80 applicants, excluding many prominent figures. The ruling establishment appears to be focused on creating the illusion of a competitive atmosphere in a bid to overcome the unprecedented voter apathy witnessed in the 2021 elections in which the late President Ebrahim Raisi lacked any credible competitor. However, the introduction of a “reformist” among the “hardliner” contenders reopens the debate about the role of elections in the Iranian political system. This unique system blends traditional and modern values, rooted in Shiite Islamic and Western republican traditions. This has impacted and generated tension regarding power and political legitimacy in the system and the mechanisms for shaping its structure. Over the past four decades, Iran’s ruling establishment has consistently organized general elections to shape its governing institutions, including the presidency, Parliament and local councils. These elections have witnessed substantial popular participation, averaging around 60%, which is seen by the establishment as an indication of broad legitimacy. At first glance, considering the level of popular participation, which has declined in recent years, it may seem logical that these elections play a role in renewing the regime’s legitimacy. However, none of the past elections have fundamentally changed the regime’s policies or structure, as there has been no real transfer of power over 40 years. All government and presidential programs failed due to the overarching authority of the supreme leader and affiliated institutions, or “parallel institutions.” Stricter restrictions were imposed on the rise of certain factions to power, even when new political factions emerged with fresh perspectives on social and political issues. Ultimately, elections are revealed to be a mechanism for role exchange within the elite, with the regime holding firm to its own principles and perceptions, not allowing changes through the ballot box, and controlling who competes in the elections. One of the most prominent indications of the gap between the regime’s claim that the elections are evidence of its legitimacy and popularity and the stark reality is the broad social movement and mobilization that Iran has witnessed in recent years. This movement has directed extensive criticism at the regime as a whole, including its leaders, structure, ideas, ideology, and domestic and outside orientations. This paper aims to analyze the practical aspects of the elections within Iran’s idiosyncratic political system by examining several key elements: the role of democratic elections, the main structural factors influencing their effectiveness, the ways in which the Iranian regime utilizes elections along with its core objectives, and the impacts of limited electoral effectiveness on the country’s political landscape.

Regional and Senate Elections: Results & New Trends

China-CEE Institute, 2024

In September, the elections to regional assemblies and the Senate were held in the Czech Republic. Both of them demonstrated the decline of the government parties in contrast to the rise of the opposition. The briefing analyses the results of the two elections, identifies the main trends, and puts them into a broader political and historical context. The ANO movement became the main winner, while the Pirates were the biggest loser. Despite the lack of success on the part of the ruling parties, they proved incapable of revising both the strategy and tactics. The briefing argues that this fact can contribute to their defeat in the next parliamentary election.

The 11th Presidential Election in Iran

The political structure of Iran is a theocratic system based on Shia doctrine. The most powerful religious and political authority is a Shia religious authority known as the Supreme Leader. However, the head of government is a president elected through popular vote. So far eleven presidential elections have been held since the 1979 revolution. The eleventh presidential election was held on June 14, 2013. It was one of the most important presidential elections. It owed its importance to the previous controversial presidential election in 2009 which led to a wide popular uprising. More importantly, the eleventh presidential election was held amid tensions among different political streams within the political system. Based on primary and some secondary sources, this paper looks at the Iranian electoral laws, the candidates, their campaigns, voting, the election result and the wider significance of the eleventh presidential election. It specifically answers the following questions: what was the importance of the eleventh presidential election? What were the electoral laws, institutions and procedures for the presidential election in Iran? How was the presidential election conducted? What role do presidential elections play in the Iranians’ quest for democracy? This paper finds that although the election results received welcome by Iranians, there are significant flaws in the Iranian electoral system which casts doubt on the credibility of the elections being held in Iran. In particular, there were series of events during the eleventh presidential election which affected its natural outcome. Finally, this paper discovers that despite the conservatives’ paean, the presidential election was a major setback for them.

Iran’s Presidential Election: Problematic but Important

The outcome of the upcoming Presidential election in Iran has been sealed by the Guardian Council’s decision to exclude candidates at will and to favor the Supreme Leader’s trustees. The current appointed body has prevented Rafsanjani and Mashaei, along with several other hundreds, from running for the seat, while the Green Movement has been prosecuted. But even though none of the remaining eight candidates can be labeled as pure reformers or as liberals, they do have different approaches on important matters that have significant impact on the country and the region, such as their stances on the nuclear program and on the economy.