Election Date: April 25, 2008

Abstract: At stake: Islamic Consultative Assembly

At stake: Islamic Consultative Assembly

Background

Iran became an Islamic Republic after the monarchy was abolished in 1979. The Ayatollah Khomeini commanded a group of Muslim clerics who controlled the country for the next decade.

Just months into the new regime, militants took 52 hostages inside the American Embassy in Tehran, demanding the extradition of the exiled Shah, who had been in the United States for medical treatment. The crisis played out in the international press, and had a profound effect in the 1980 United States presidential race.

The next eight years saw Iran involved in a devastating conflict with Iraq after a border dispute. The war left close to 1 million dead on both sides.

In April 2000, the political landscape changed once more, as a coalition of reformist lawmakers emerged victorious after the parliamentary elections with 189 seats. President Mohammad Khatami—first elected in 1997—was rewarded with a new term in 2001.

The reforms proposed by Khatami made him increasingly popular with younger Iranians, an important fact in a country where voters can head to the polls at the age of 16. Still, the country’s true head of state—the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—and the Council of Guardians did not always agree with the president’s views on Islamic traditions. Iran’s unemployment rate in early 2004—close to 20 per cent according to official estimates—was also a cause for concern.

Iran was branded as part of an "axis of evil" by U.S. president George W. Bush in January 2002.

In 2004, Iranian voters renewed the Islamic Consultative Assembly in an election marked by the banning of several candidates by the Council of Guardians.

Click here for Iran’s 2004 Legislative Election Tracker 

A presidential election took place in 2005. Former Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the ballot with 61.6 per cent of the vote, defeating former reformist president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Click here for Iran’s 2005 Presidential Election Tracker

Ahmadinejad has gained notoriety in the world stage mainly for his defiant attitude on two contentious topics. One is his stance on the Jewish holocaust in the hands of Nazis, which the president considers a "myth". Ahmadinejad has also called for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

The second controversial topic is Iran’s recent nuclear development program, which the government says is aimed solely at producing energy. The Western international community, however, accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

In December 2006, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously voted to impose sanctions against Iran after it failed to stop uranium enrichment. Ahmadinejad claimed the sanctions were illegitimate, and has announced his country is successfully enriching uranium—a process needed both to make nuclear weapons and produce electricity—in an "industrial scale." In March 2007, a new set of UN sanctions—which include a ban on arms sales—was imposed on Iran.

2008 Islamic Consultative Assembly Election

On Aug. 25, 2007, U.S. president George W. Bush renewed old accusations against Iran for allegedly fomenting instability in Iraq, saying the country’s nuclear program could put the Middle East "under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust." Bush also declared: "Iran has long been a source of trouble in the region. It is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism."

In early October, Russia blocked a new set of sanctions the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) was expecting to impose on Iran for continuing to develop its nuclear capabilities.

In October, United States senator Hillary Rodham Clinton—the frontrunner in the national race for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination—said she would consider pursuing military action against Iran if elected in order to avoid it from getting nuclear weapons. Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani—the frontrunner in the national race for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination—guaranteed that Iran will not get nuclear weapons if he wins the election, adding, "The military option if not off the table."

On Oct. 16, Russian president Vladimir Putin attended a meeting of Caspian countries and then met privately with Ahmadinejad in Teheran. Putin urged the regional leaders to stand against a possible military aggression against Iran, after which they all agreed they will not lend their soil for the launch of any such operation. The Russian head of state declared: "This is very important. We must not submit to other states in the case of aggression or some other kind of military action directed against one of the Caspian countries." Ahmadinejad added during the joint press conference: "The Caspian Sea will always be the sea of peace and friendship among the littoral states," as he announced the future creation of an Economic Cooperation Organization for uniting Caspian states.

On Oct. 17, Bush was asked to comment on the meeting between Ahmadinejad and Putin, and said: "My leadership style has been to try to be in a position where I actually can influence people. And one way to do that is to have personal relationships that enable me to sit down and tell people what’s on my mind without fear of rupturing relations. And that’s how I’ve tried to conduct my business with Vladimir Putin. We don’t agree on a lot of issues; we do agree on some. Iran is one; nuclear proliferation is another. Reducing our nuclear warheads was an issue that we agreed on early."

On Dec. 14, 21 moderate and reformist parties assembled a coalition. Spokesman Abdollah Naseri said the group is “inspired” by former Iranian president Mohammad Katami, adding, “The country is in serious crisis. All parties agree that they should restore the parliament’s position and curb the government’s inexpert activities.”

On Jan. 23, 2008, the reformist factions claimed that more than 3,000 candidates have already been disqualified. Former deputy interior minister Mostafa Tajzadeh declared: “Conservatives are scared of a reformist victory because of the government’s failed economic policies.”

In 2004, the Council of Guardians determined that 3,605 candidates—including 80 lawmakers belonging to the Second of Khordad Front and other reformist political factions—would not be allowed to run.

Voting took place on Mar. 14. Ahmadinejad discussed the process and criticized “the West”, saying, “They imagine that by having approved a resolution, they can influence people’s decisions in the election. It is regretful that they are this stupid, sometimes it really makes me laugh that they do not know the Iranian nation.”

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack questioned the election, declaring, “In essence the results are cooked. They are cooked in the sense that the Iranian people were not able to vote for a full range of people. (...) They are given the choice of choosing between one supporter of the regime or another supporter of the regime. They were not given the opportunity to vote for somebody who might have had different ideas.”

By late March, the United Front and the Broad Front—both considered as conservative and Islamist—were deemed the winners of 88 and 75 seats each; the coalition of reformers got 23, and the National Trust Party—the second list of reformers—secured 17.

While the United Front is very close to Ahmadinejad, the Broad Front is home to more moderate conservatives.

On Mar. 17, Ami-Ali Amiri, spokesman for the Broad Front, declared: “The results of the elections should not be interpreted as a victory for Ahmadinejad’s government because the majority of the new parliament deputies will be critical towards the government.”

On Mar. 26, the second round of the election was scheduled for Apr. 25. In all, more than 80 seats in 43 constituencies will be up for grabs. Council of Guardians spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei declared: “The validity of the eighth parliamentary elections in 36 districts [including Tehran] has been confirmed.”

On Apr. 17, Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert said he trusts the international community will not allow Iran to develop weapons of mass destruction, saying, “I want to tell the citizens of Israel: Iran will not have nuclear capability. (...) On the basis of all I know and read, I believe that the international effort, which includes all relevant means, will succeed and Iran will not become a nuclear power.”

Also on Apr. 17, British prime minister Gordon Brown visited Bush in Washington. In a joint press conference, Bush declared that Iranian leaders have shown to be “untrustworthy,” while Brown said he would push for tighter economic sanctions against Iran, saying, “I make no apology” for doing so, as long as Tehran defies demands to stop enriching uranium.

Second round voting took place on Apr. 25. Final results released on Apr. 26 gave conservative candidates 69 per cent of the seats, followed by reformists with 16 per cent, and independents with 14 per cent. Interior minister Mostafa Pour Mohammadi—who did not provide a seat tally—declared: “My assessment is that the future parliament will be more capable (than the last), with stronger expertise. I hope there will be stronger interaction between the government and the parliament.”

Turnout for the first round was tabled at 60 per cent. The second round saw only 26 per cent of registered voters taking part.

Political Players

Rahbar: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
President: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

The Rahbar is the leader of the Islamic Republic. The president is elected to a four-year term by popular vote.

Legislative Branch: The Majlis-e-Shura-ye-Eslami (Islamic Consultative Assembly) has 290 members, elected to four-year terms in multi-seat and single-seat constituencies. All assembly candidates have to be approved by the Shura-E-Nigahban (Council of Guardians) in order to run. The Council is charged with examining all legislation passed by the Assembly, to ensure that it conforms to Islamic law. The Council has twelve members; six clergymen chosen by the Leadership Council, plus six Muslim lawyers selected by the High Council of Justice. Council members serve six-year terms. Six posts are changed every three years.

Results of Last Election:

President - Jun. 17 and Jun. 24, 2005

	Jun. 17	Jun. 24
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad	19.2%	61.6%
Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani	21.1%	35.9%
Mehdi Karrubi	17.4%	--
Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf	13.9%	--
Mostafa Moin	13.7%	--
Ali Larijani	5.9%	--
Mohsen Mehr Alizade	4.4%	--

Islamic Consultative Assembly - Feb. 20 and May 7, 2004

	Seats
Conservative / Islamists	190
Reformists	50
Independents	43
Religious minorities	5
Undecided seats	2

Archive Search

Search the Angus Reid Global Monitor Election Tracker archive.

Advanced Search