Babak

TEHRAN –The comprehensive elections bill will be discussed in detail on the floor of the Expediency Council in the next two weeks. The discussion about reforming election laws in Iran is not a new one. In the past, and in particular during the years of reform, efforts were made to reform the existing laws, but it faced fierce resistance from the Guardian Council and thus it remained in the background.

This discussion has entered a new phase as a result of the Supreme Leader’s order to the Expediency Council to look into the current law and propose appropriate reforms. The Supreme Leader issued the order almost one year before the June 12 election. This order is significant for two reasons.

First, this bill is being developed in the Expediency Council, and once approved by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will serve as the general policy guidelines of the Islamic Republic regarding all elections. Therefore, deliberating the important elections bill at the Expediency Council can be viewed as the mighty return of Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, the chairman of the Council, to the political scene and diminishing influence of hardliners after the last seven months of aggression. This process began when Rafsanjani reacted harshly to frequent attacks by Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, the vice chairman of the Assembly of Experts, against him. Since Rafsanajani threatened Yazdi, saying he might reveal information about his past positions, the cleric has been silent.

Second, the Islamic Republic will face new challenges and developments for the first time in almost thirty years if this bill turns into law. This would significantly reduce the powers of the Guardian Council, which have been under Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati’s personal control since the beginning of the revolution. The Guardian Council is also the command and control center of the totalitarian forces in Iran, especially during election cycles. The Guardian Council, however, will still retain its monitoring responsibilities, but it will lose one of its most important roles, which is approving the competency of potential candidates, to the new National Elections Commission.

The proposed composition of the new National Elections Commission can demonstrate the political leanings of the authors of this bill. The bill aims to significantly reduce or even eliminate the role of the Guardian Council and the administration in regards to elections. The National Elections Commission will be composed of three representatives from the administration, two from the parliament, two from the judiciary, one from the Expediency Council, one from the Guardian Council, and the director of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Broadcasting (IRIB). The representative of the Guardian Council cannot vote in the Commission. Such composition shows that the proposed bill is aimed at providing a platform for moderates to oversee the election process in Iran.

On the other hand, harsh attacks by ultraconservatives such as Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor in chief of Kayhan, against this could be seen as evidence of the importance of this bill in limiting the influence of totalitarian forces in Iran and increasing the democratic potential of the Islamic Republic.

Meanwhile, the final version of the bill must be approved by the Supreme Leader. If passed, this will be viewed as the Supreme Leader’s personal effort to reduce the powers of the hardliners and bring back moderate conservatives in order to reduce deep divisions in the Islamic Republic.