RECENT ELECTION

Presidential, June 12, 2009

Description of Electoral System

(courtesy of IFES election guide and wikipedia)

The Supreme Leader is the highest ranking political and religious authority of the nation. The Supreme Leader is appointed by the Assembly of Experts, whose 86 members in turn is elected by the public from a government-screened list of candidates. In the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami) 290 members are elected by popular vote to serve 4-year terms (changed from 270 seats with the 18 February 2000 election).

The president of Iran is directly elected by the people to serve a four-year term. A president may not serve for more than two consecutive terms.

Electoral Systems Snapshot

(Courtesy of International IDEA)

*Click on links for definitions

Politics of Iran

(courtesy of wikipedia)

Politics and Government of Iran takes place in the framework of a republic with Islamist Ideology. The December 1979 constitution, and its 1989 amendment, define the political, economic, and social order of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It declares that Shi'a Islam of the Jaafari (Usuli) school of thought is Iran's official religion.

2009 Presidental Election

(courtesy of wikipedia)

The 2009 Iranian presidential election was held on 12 June 2009 in Iran, the tenth presidential election to be held in the country.

With two-thirds of the votes counted, the Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran's official news agency, announced that incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won the election with 66% of the votes cast, and that Mir-Hossein Mousavi had received 33% of the votes cast. The European Union and several western countries expressed concern over alleged irregularities during the vote, and some analysts and journalists from United States and United Kingdom based media voiced doubts about the authenticity of the results.

Mousavi issued a statement saying, "I'm warning that I won't surrender to this charade," and he urged his backers to fight the decision as well as to avoid committing acts of violence. Protests, in favour of Mousavi and against the alleged fraud, broke out in Tehran. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged the nation to unite behind Ahmadinejad, labeling his victory as a "divine assessment". Mousavi lodged an official appeal against the result to the Guardian Council on 14 June. On 15 June, Khamenei announced there would be an investigation into vote-rigging claims, which would take seven to ten days.

2008 Parliamentary Election

(courtesy of wikipedia)

Legislative elections for the Majlis of Iran were held on 14 March 2008, with a second round held on 25 April 2008.

Some 4,500 candidates nationwide were running for parliament's 290 seats vote, in which an estimated 44 million Iranians of over 18 years of age were eligible to vote.

With less than two-thirds of the 290 contests decided by March 15, conservatives had won 125 seats, reformers won 35 and independents won 10, according to news agency Fars. Another 39 winners were independents whose political leanings were not immediately known. Five other seats dedicated to Iran's Jewish, Zoroastrian and Christian minorities have been decided.

82 seats in which no candidate gained more than 25% of the vote in the first round held another round of voting on 25 April 2008; 11 of those seats were in Teheran. Of the 164 candidates, 69 are considered to be Conservative, 41 Reformists and 54 as Independents. Turnout in the second round was only about 25%.