How Iranian Presidential Elections Work

In the constitution of Islamic Republic of Iran,Guardian Council. After being elected in the Iranian
President of Iran is the highest elected official andPresidential elections, the president is responsible
responsible for the functions of the executive.to the people, the Supreme Leader and the
The post has significant government influence asIslamic Consultative Assembly. The people of Iran
it supervises the affairs of the executive branch.have vested their interests in him and he has to
The other functions of the Iranian presidentlive up to their expectations.
involves appointing and supervising council ofThe Position of The Iranian President
ministers, coordinating government decisions, andAccording to the Constitution of Iran, the Iranian
selecting government policies to place before thePresident is the highest authority in the country,
Islamic assembly. Iranian presidential election holdssecond only to the Faqih, or the Supreme Leader.
great value in its constitution.He must be a Shia Muslim and of outstanding
The Iranian president is elected by universal adultpolitical stature. He has the right to approve the
suffrage for a four-year term. The candidates fornominations of Ministers, sign laws and bring them
Iranian Presidential election must be above 18into force and veto decrees issued by the Council
years of age. The most important fact is theof Ministers.
candidature of the aspiring candidates must beSpecial Rules of Iranian Presidential Elections
approved by Council of Guardians consisting of 12The person who gets an absolute majority of the
members. The approval process of presidentialpolled votes in the Iranian Presidential elections
candidates is a process of checking the power ofbecomes the Iranian President. But in case no one
the candidates as a president and it picks fewis able to gain a clear majority in the first round, a
numbers of eligible candidates.second round of votes will be taken on the Friday
Election Procedure of Iranian Presidentof the following week. Only the two people who
The Council of Guardians is directly or indirectlyhave got the highest and the second highest
selected by the Supreme Leader of the country.votes in the first round will participate. Sometimes,
And the candidates who are approved by theone of these people tends to withdraw from the
Council of Guardians as well as the Supremeelections. In such a case, the two persons with
Leader are permitted for the run in the Iranianthe highest number of votes in the first round will
Presidential Elections. Generally, Iranian president isbe considered. The supervision of the entire
elected with majority of popular votes. Iranianelections is done by the Guardian Council.
presidential elections may require a runoff electionThe new Iranian President has to be elected
to select a single winner. The tenure of thewithin one month of retirement of the outgoing
president is for four years, and the person is alsoPresident. The outgoing President continues to
eligible for a second term after the completion ofperform the duties of the President until the new
his tenure.one assumes office. The Constitution also says
The Iranian President has to take an oath ofthat if the President dies ten days prior to the
office on assuming the responsibilities of the post.D-day, the elections will be postponed for two
He has to sign to it at the session of the Islamicweeks. The same will happen if the candidate dies
Consultative Assembly in the presence of thebetween the first and second rounds of voting of
Head of Judiciary and the members of thethe Iranian Presidential elections.