National holiday:
Republic Day, 1 April (1979)
note: additional holidays celebrated widely in Iran include
Revolution Day, 11 February (1979); Noruz (New Year's Day), 21
March; Constitutional Monarchy Day, 5 August (1925); and various
Islamic observances that change in accordance with the lunar-based
hejira calendar
Constitution:
2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency
and eliminate the prime ministership
Legal system:
the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government
Suffrage:
15 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Supreme Leader Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June
1989)
head of government: President Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD (since 3 August
2005); First Vice President Parviz DAVUDI (since 11 September 2005)
cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president with
legislative approval; the Supreme Leader has some control over
appointments to the more sensitive ministries
note: also considered part of the Executive branch of government are
three oversight bodies: 1) Assembly of Experts, a popularly elected
body of 86 religious scholars constitutionally charged with
determining the succession of the Supreme Leader, reviewing his
performance, and deposing him if deemed necessary; 2) Expediency
Council or Council for the Discernment of Expediency is a policy
advisory and implementation board consisting of permanent and
temporary members representing all major government factions, some
of whom are appointed by the Supreme Leader; the Council exerts
supervisory authority over the executive, judicial, and legislative
branches and resolves legislative issues on which the Majles and the
Council of Guardians disagree; 3) Council of Guardians or Council of
Guardians of the Constitution is a 12-member board of clerics and
jurists serving six-year terms that determines whether proposed
legislation is both constitutional and faithful to Islamic law; the
Council also vets candidates for suitability and supervises national
elections
elections: Supreme Leader appointed for life by the Assembly of
Experts; president elected by popular vote for a four-year term
(eligible for a second term); election last held 17 June 2005 with a
two-candidate runoff on 24 June 2005 (next to be held in 2009)
election results: Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD elected president; percent of
vote - Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD 62%, Ali Akbar Hashemi RAFSANJANI 36%
Legislative branch:
unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly or
Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami (290 seats - formerly 270 seats; members
elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 February 2004 with a runoff held 7 May 2004
(by-elections next to be held in December 2006; general election to
be held in February 2008)
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats by party -
conservatives/Islamists 190, reformers 50, independents 43,
religious minorities 5, and 2 seats unaccounted for
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court - above a special clerical court, a revolutionary
court, and a special administrative court
Political parties and leaders:
formal political parties are a relatively new phenomenon in Iran
and most conservatives still prefer to work through political
pressure groups rather than parties; a loose pro-reform coalition
called the 2nd Khordad Front, which includes political parties as
well as less formal pressure groups and organizations, achieved
considerable success at elections to the sixth Majles in early 2000;
groups in the coalition include: Islamic Iran Participation Front
(IIPF), Executives of Construction Party (Kargozaran), Solidarity
Party, Islamic Labor Party, Mardom Salari, Mojahedin of the Islamic
Revolution Organization (MIRO), and Militant Clerics Society
(Ruhaniyun); the coalition participated in the seventh Majles
elections in early 2004; following his defeat in the 2005
presidential elections, former MCS Secretary General Mehdi KARRUBI
formed the National Trust Party; a new apparently conservative
group, the Builders of Islamic Iran, took a leading position in the
new Majles after winning a majority of the seats in February 2004
Political pressure groups and leaders: political pressure groups conduct most of Iran's political activities; groups that generally support the Islamic Republic include Ansar-e Hizballah, Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam, Tehran Militant Clergy Association (Ruhaniyat), Islamic Coalition Party (Motalefeh), and Islamic Engineers Society; active pro-reform student groups include the Office of Strengthening Unity (OSU); opposition groups include Freedom Movement of Iran, the National Front, Marz-e Por Gohar, and various ethnic and Monarchist organizations; armed political groups that have been almost completely repressed by the government include Mujahidin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), People's Fedayeen, Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, and Komala
International organization participation:
ABEDA, CP, ECO, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt
(signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA,
SCO (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNWTO, UPU,
WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)