Iran Election or Selection? What are the Prospects?

Members of Assembly of Expertes - March 2015

On February 26, two “elections” will be held in Iran simultaneously: for the 290 seats of “Islamic Consultative Assembly.” (Majlis or parliament) and for the 86-member Assembly of Experts which is nominally tasked with selecting the Supreme Leader and supervising his conduct.

The Constitution and election laws

The nature of elections in Iran is different from democratic countries. The Constitution prevents those elections from adhering to recognized international standards and from reflecting the preferences of the full range of Iran’s societal demographics.

Some of the Articles in the clerical regime’s constitution regarding elections

Article 91: Provides the formation of the “Guardian Council” (GC) which is comprised of six theologians appointed by the Supreme Leader and six jurists appointed by the head of the Judiciary, who is also appointed by the Supreme Leader. The Article states: “With a view to safeguarding the Islamic ordinances and the Constitution and in order to examine the compatibility of the legislation passed by the Islamic Consultative Assembly with Islam, a council to be known as the Guardian Council is to be established.”