NationStates Jolt Archive

For the past couple hours I've been trying to figure the mechanics of the government of Iran. It's easily among the most odd I've had the displeasure of reading about, and I'm still not quite sure about most of it. Here's my understanding (information from various sources, most of all Wikipedia):

Ra'is-e Jomhour (President) - Directly elected after being approved by Council of Guardians.
Powers equivocable to most Presidents and Prime Ministers. Head of State.,

Majles (Parliment) - Directly elected
Unicameral legislative body of 290. Legislation requires approval of Council of Guardians.

Council of Guardians - Six religious appointed by Rahbar. Six lawyers selected by head of judiciary and appointed by Majles.
Interpets Constitution of Iran and examines candidates for President and Expert.

Head of Judiciary - Appointed by Rahbar.
Presides over Judiciary, which concerns self with criminal and civil cases.

Rahbar (Supreme Leader) - Elected by Assembly of Experts
Also Head of State. I can't really figure out where the powers of the Rahbar end and the powers of the President begin.

Assembly of Experts - Directly elected (must be religious leaders); subject to approval by Council of Guardians
Keeps check on Rahbar. That's pretty much it.

Diagram color-coded with what my American-oriented political understanding interpets each body as.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/PoptartKing/iraniangovt.jpg

So, my question is this: Why does the Iranian government expend so much effort in making a pseudo-democracy?

Please correct me if there are any inaccuracies.

For the past couple hours I've been trying to figure the mechanics of the government of Iran. It's easily among the most odd I've had the displeasure of reading about, and I'm still not quite sure about most of it. Here's my understanding (information from various sources, most of all Wikipedia):

Ra'is-e Jomhour (President) - Directly elected after being approved by Council of Guardians.
Powers equivocable to most Presidents and Prime Ministers. Head of State.,

Majles (Parliment) - Directly elected
Unicameral legislative body of 290. Legislation requires approval of Council of Guardians.

Council of Guardians - Six religious appointed by Rahbar. Six lawyers selected by head of judiciary and appointed by Majles.
Interpets Constitution of Iran and examines candidates for President and Expert.

Head of Judiciary - Appointed by Rahbar.
Presides over Judiciary, which concerns self with criminal and civil cases.

Rahbar (Supreme Leader) - Elected by Assembly of Experts
Also Head of State. I can't really figure out where the powers of the Rahbar end and the powers of the President begin.

Assembly of Experts - Directly elected (must be religious leaders); subject to approval by Council of Guardians
Keeps check on Rahbar. That's pretty much it.

Diagram color-coded with what my American-oriented political understanding interpets each body as.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/PoptartKing/iraniangovt.jpg

So, my question is this: Why does the Iranian government expend so much effort in making a pseudo-democracy?

Please correct me if there are any inaccuracies.

Im sure one could make the US pseudo-democracy seem similarly confusing, with its supreme court appointee's, cabinet, and electoral college(Try explaining to someone unfamiliar with our system, how a presidential nominee can get more votes than another, but lose to that other. About as wierd/confusing as having a comittee approve/disapprove iranian presidents, i would think.

The Mullahs (Supreme Leader And Such) have most of the power. The President was an early attempt to create democracy (to contrast with the Shah) but the Mullahs never let loose their grip on power.

By the looks of what you have posted, it appears as if it is a government made to be by all appearences a Theological Democacy (?) but is in fact a well controled government governed by an obvious select few.

Giving off an illusion of freedom while not granting very much.

By the looks of what you have posted, it appears as if it is a government made to be by all appearences a Theological Democacy (?) but is in fact a well controled government governed by an obvious select few.

Giving off an illusion of freedom while not granting very much.

But who won the election? The person the people voted for. Just because a system can be corrupt, doesnt mean it is. Otherwise, the electoral college would be seriously screwing over the nation.

But who won the election? The person the people voted for. Just because a system can be corrupt, doesnt mean it is. Otherwise, the electoral college would be seriously screwing over the nation.

Akbar A'lami, Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, Mostafa Kavakebian, Zabihollah Bakhshi, Rafat Bayat, Reza Zavare'i, Nasser Hejazi, Mohammad Hossein Pahlevan, Azam Taleghani, Ebrahim Yazdi, and Mohammad Sajjadi all were rejected as candidates. Who can say how well they would have done?

Im sure one could make the US pseudo-democracy seem similarly confusing, with its supreme court appointee's, cabinet, and electoral college(Try explaining to someone unfamiliar with our system, how a presidential nominee can get more votes than another, but lose to that other. About as wierd/confusing as having a comittee approve/disapprove iranian presidents, i would think.

Actually, it took me about five minutes to figure out how the electoral college worked, and the reason I supposed for its presence was entirely accurate, as it later turned out. Now, genius as I may be, that's really not a fair comparison, because that's simply a slightly odd way of counting the votes, whilst Iran's... whatever it is seems to be practically unfathomable.

The little diagram pretty much explains it all.

Introduction
Iran is a constitutional Islamic Republic, whose political system is laid out in the 1979 constitution called Qanun e Asasi. Iran's makeup has several intricately connected governing bodies, some of which are democratically elected and some of which operate by co-opting people based on their religious inclinations.

The Supreme Leader (Rahbar)
According to Iran's Constitution, the Supreme Leader of Iran is responsible for the delineation and supervision of "the general policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran." In the absence of a single leader, a council of religious leaders is appointed. The Supreme Leader is commander-in-chief of the armed forces and controls the Islamic Republic's intelligence and security operations; he alone can declare war. He has the power to appoint and dismiss the leaders of the judiciary, the state radio and television networks, and the supreme commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He also appoints six of the twelve members of the Council of Guardians. He, or the council of religious leaders, are elected by the Assembly of Experts, on the basis of their qualifications and the high popular esteem in which they are held.

The President (Ra'is-e Jomhour)
After the office of Leadership, the President of Iran is the highest official in the country. His is the responsibility for implementing the Constitution and acting as the head of the executive, except in matters directly concerned with (the office of) the Leadership. According to the law, all presidential candidates must be approved by the Council of Guardians prior to running, after which he is elected by universal suffrage to a 4-year term by an absolute majority of votes. After his election, the president appoints and supervises the Council of Ministers (the cabinet), coordinates government decisions, and selects government policies to be placed before the parliament. Eight vice presidents serve under the president, as well as a cabinet of 21 ministers. The Council of Ministers must be confirmed by Parliament. Unlike many other states, the executive branch in Iran does not control the armed forces.

The Parliament (Majles)
The unicameral Iranian parliament, the Islamic Consultative Assembly or "Majles-e Shura-ye Eslami", consists of 290 members elected to a 4-year term. The members are elected by direct and secret ballot. It drafts legislation, ratifies international treaties, and approves the country's budget. All legislation from the assembly must be reviewed by the Council of Guardians. Candidates for a seat in the Majles require approval by the Council of Guardians.

The Assembly of Experts
The Assembly of Experts, which meets for one week every year, consists of 86 "virtuous and learned" clerics elected by the public to eight-year terms. Like presidential and parliamentary elections, the Council of Guardians determines eligibility to run for a seat in this assembly.

Members of the Assembly of Experts in turn elect the Supreme Leader from within their own ranks and periodically reconfirm him. The assembly has never been known to challenge any of the Supreme Leader's decisions.

The Council of Guardians
Twelve jurists comprise the Council of Guardians, six of whom are appointed by the Supreme Leader. The head of the judiciary recommends the remaining six, which are officially appointed by Parliament.

The Council of Guardians is vested with the authority to interpret the constitution and determines if the laws passed by Parliament are in line with sharia (Islamic law). Hence the council can exercise veto power over Parliament. If a law passed by Parliament is deemed incompatible with the constitution or sharia, it is referred back to Parliament for revision.

The council also examines presidential and parliamentary candidates to determine their fitness to run for a seat.

The Expediency Council
Created by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1988, the Expediency Council has the authority to mediate disputes between Parliament and the Council of Guardians. Presently, according to the constitution, the Expediency Council serves as an advisory body to the Supreme Leader, making it one of the most powerful governing bodies in the country, at least in name.

The Judiciary
The head of the judiciary is appointed by the Supreme Leader, who in turn appoints the head of the Supreme Court and the chief public prosecutor.

Public courts deal with civil and criminal cases. There are also revolutionary courts that try certain categories of offenses, including crimes against national security, narcotics smuggling, and acts that undermine the Islamic Republic. Decisions rendered in revolutionary courts are final and cannot be appealed.

The rulings of the Special Clerical Court, which functions independently of the regular judicial framework and is accountable only to the Supreme Leader, are also final and cannot be appealed. The Special Clerical Court handles crimes allegedly committed by clerics, although it has also taken on cases involving lay people.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran#Introduction

It's all run by a bunch of Mullahs. Bring back the Shah.

Bring back the Shah.Bring the Shah to Iran...bring him to downtown Tehran...let him have all the love of the people of Iran.

he is going to be greeted with roses and dances...let him have a "bain de foule" :D

I really want him to personally feel all the warm love directly from the people of Iran.

So, my question is this: Why does the Iranian government expend so much effort in making a pseudo-democracy?
They are not making an effort to seem like a democracy as US-ians might like it.
They wanted to built a country that (while democratic) preserves "morals" as based on Shia-Islam. It is a system of checks and balances just like in the US, only that it happens to include religious figures.
I'm not saying I would like to live in Iran, because I oppose any religion in politics, but living in Iran one has more democratic rights than in many places on this planet, including most of the US's Allies in the War against "Terror".

They are not making an effort to seem like a democracy as US-ians might like it.
They wanted to built a country that (while democratic) preserves "morals" as based on Shia-Islam. It is a system of checks and balances just like in the US, only that it happens to include religious figures.
I'm not saying I would like to live in Iran, because I oppose any religion in politics, but living in Iran one has more democratic rights than in many places on this planet, including most of the US's Allies in the War against "Terror".
very well said...

5 stars.