Evidence suggests the Nezam’s ultimate policymakers are not retreating from placing political power exclusively in the hands of Iran’s hardliners, regardless of wishful speculation on the part of Iran’s reformist news outlets about the regime’s openness to a more inclusive approach. Bills to “reform” the election law and to require “transparency” in the votes of legislators are currently in the final stages of review and approval. In coordination with the Nezam’s approach to creating a homogenized power system, conservative power groups have drafted the two bills.
After days of scattered information about the bill on reforms in the election law, the details disclosed today reveal a considerable change in the country’s election system and reflect the Nezam’s will for closer oversight of the Majles. The initiation of the bill goes back to the supreme leader’s policy guidelines to the Majles in 2017 for reforms in the election law. While the previous administration had drawn up a bill to address the supreme leader’s demands, MP Mohammad-Saleh Jowkar clarified that the Majles replaced the former administration’s bill with a completely new one. According to his reformist colleague Gholamreza Nuri-Qezeljeh, the new bill slashed the republican aspect of the Nezam by empowering the Guardian Council (GC) to disqualify elected candidates at any time during their term, in effect rendering people’s votes meaningless. The GC’s new scope of power enables the unelected body to influence the political moves and decisions of the legislature even more than before (Daily Summaries of 10 May 2023: “Nezam’s Underhanded Plan To Boost Voter Turnout” and 18 May 2023: “Conservatives Prioritize Handpicked Candidates over Voter Turnout”).
Contacting a number of MPs only one of whom was willing to provide limited details about the progress of the bill, Khabar Online, the media outlet close to Ali Larijani, made a largely unsuccessful attempt to dig up more information. MP Lotfollah Siahkali claims the main articles of the bill have been ratified and submitted to the ministry of interior for implementation, while committee discussions on the details of the bill continue. Siahkali highlights the clause that allows the GC to oust elected MPs during their tenure. The change in the scope of the GC’s power is clearly a violation of the Islamic Republic’s Constitution. Amir Hoseinabadi, a legal scholar and former faculty member of Shahid Beheshti University, challenges the legislation on constitutional grounds. Nor is this the only change that the bill envisages. Jowkar says it will apportion seats in the legislature by the percentage of votes that slates of candidates receive. Called a “percentage-based model,” the legislation gives added weight to a party structure that is currently nonexistent in Iran’s political system. It also enables the Nezam, at a lower political cost, to keep “homogenized” political power in the hands of its favored hardliners. The mechanism is designed to allow great diversity in candidates during an election cycle, thereby potentially attracting high voter turnout, but ultimately reserving power for the GC to oust any legislator it deems fit at any time. The bill for so-called transparency also facilitates the identification of MPs who do not abide by the Nezam’s will.
