_#_Political parties and leaders: there are at least 14 licensed parties; the three most important are—Tehran Militant Clergy Association, Mohammad Reza MAHDAVI-KANI; Militant Clerics Association, Mehdi MAHDAVI-KARUBI and Mohammad Asqar MUSAVI-KHOINIHA; Fedaiyin Islam Organization, Sadeq KHALKHALI
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 15
_#_Elections:
President—last held NA July 1989 (next to be held April 1993); results—Ali Akbar HASHEMI-RAFSANJANI was elected with only token opposition;
Islamic Consultative Assembly—last held 8 April 1988 (next to be held June 1992); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(270 seats total) number of seats by party NA
_#_Communists: 1,000 to 2,000 est. hardcore; 15,000 to 20,000 est. sympathizers; crackdown in 1983 crippled the party; trials of captured leaders began in late 1983 and remain incomplete
_#_Other political or pressure groups: groups that generally support the Islamic Republic include Hizballah, Hojjatiyeh Society, Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution, Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam; armed political groups that have been almost completely repressed by the government include Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO), People's Fedayeen, and Kurdish Democratic Party; the Society for the Defense of Freedom is a group of liberal nationalists that has been repressed by the government for accusing it of corruption
_#_Member of: CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: none; protecting power in the US is Algeria—Iranian Interests Section, 2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington DC 20007; telephone (202) 965-4990;
US—protecting power in Iran is Switzerland