1. Iran: Political Institutions AP Comparative Government

2. Government/P arties  The theocracy in Iran is represented in the government by the Supreme Leader and two governmental bodies: the Guardian Council and the Expediency Council.  The President, the Assembly of Religious Experts, and the national assembly (the Majles) are democratically elected  While the constitution allows for political parties, they were not allowed by the government until Muhammad Khatami’s election in 1997  New parties appeared for the Majles elections of 2007 and presidential elections of 2009 and 2013  Parties are highly unstable are rarely make it from election to election

3. Elections  Citizens over the age of eighteen (a change from the age of fifteen in 2007) may vote for members of the Assembly of Religious Experts, representatives of the Majles, and the President of the Republic  The republic is very centralized but there are some local elections  Elections for the Majles and the presidency are plurality or winner take all  There is no proportional representation  Elections are however run in two rounds, so of the last two contenders, one will receive a majority vote

4. Elections  In the 2004 and 2008 Majles elections, thousands of candidates running for reformist parties were banned from the elections  This resulted in conservative candidates winning 70% of the seats  In 2008, the reformists were able to win a few more seats, but the Majles was still overwhelmingly controlled by the conservatives

5. Elections  In 2005, President Khatami was forced to step down because he had reached his two-term maximum  Thousands of candidates were again disqualified from running for president  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was able to win the election in 2005 because of an un-unified reform party  In 2008, Ahmadinejad ran for re-election and won 63% of the vote  This surprised many as polls had shown the candidates were very close in support  Massive protests broke out and there are reports that some arrested were tortured and killed for their participation

6. Elections of 2012 and 2013  In the 2012 elections, most candidates were seen to either be representative of then president Ahmadinejad or of the Supreme Leader Khamenei  Despite huge numbers of reformer candidates being disqualified by the guardian council, reformers were able to win 14.1% of the seats in the Majles  In the 2012 election, former nuclear negotiator Hassan Rouhani was able to win the election with 50.7% of the vote

7. Interest Groups  Due to the inconsistency of the parties, it is often hard to distinguish between parties and interest groups  The Worker’s House interest group is important and works to support factory workers  Few business interest groups have formed because of the dwindling number of private businesses  The government controls 65-80%, of the economy which limits the impact an interest group can have

8. Mass Media  Over 20 newspapers were shutdown after the Revolution of 1979  7 more were closed by 1981  In 1981, it was made illegal by the Majles to use pen and speech against the government  While limitations to free speech have been somewhat softened, there are still major issues with free speech concepts  In the 1990’s and under Khatami permits were issued to numerous newspapers, but after a new law was passed in 2000 government control over the press, 60 reform newspapers were shutdown  This law was ruled by the Council of Guardians to be legislation that could not be overturned by future law  The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting is a state owned broadcasting company which controls all radio and television stations in the country  Most papers are privately owned.

9. Mass Media  Iran has more freedom than the majority of other countries in the region  The elite in Iran are well educated and many publications are professional or recreational journals  Most publications are nonpolitical