Iran's complex political infrastructure has several centres of ... - Irish Times

IN HIS address to those gathered for Friday prayers at Tehran University yesterday, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei insisted that last week’s disputed presidential election showed “religious democracy for the whole world to see”. So what is this system of “religious democracy” that is unique to Iran? After the 1979 revolution brought the Islamic Republic into being, Iran’s new constitution set out a hybrid political system which blends elements of democracy with unelected clerical leadership. This springs from the concept of velayat-e-faqih – meaning rule of the Islamic jurist – which was developed by Ayatollah Khomeini.

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The resulting mix of appointed and directly-elected state institutions means Iran’s political infrastructure is a complex one, with several centres of power ensuring that it is not quite a theocracy, but not a full democracy either. As stated in the Iranian constitution, he should be “a religious scholar, having a proper political and social perspective, resourceful, just, pious and courageous and having adequate capability for leadership”.

Full Story: Iran's complex political infrastructure has several centres of ... - Irish Times