Iranian political system has attracted a number of analysts due to its important role in the regional politics of the West Asia and as well as the major challenger of the US policies in the Gulf. The role of the office of the president is important as the president occupies the highest elected position in the country. When we are making a critical assessment of the presidency we have to take into consideration a number of factors to get a clear picture. In order to assess the scope and limitations of the president we have to look into the whole political structure and how the entire system is bound by the principles of the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Ever since the epoch making event and the subsequent emergence of the radicals into the power the president of Iran is seen as the representative of the radical Iran.
We have to see the limitations as well as the powers vested on the president in Iran. For this purpose a glance to the process of the election of the president would be in place. All citizens of Iran are not potential presidential candidates as the constitution has led down a number of conditions for the post of the president including;
- Iranian origin;
- Iranian nationality;
- administrative capacity and resourcefulness;
- a good past record;
- trustworthiness and piety
- Convinced belief in the fundamental principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the official madhhab of the country, and
- Be a Muslim of the Twelver Shia sect.
we can realize that these conditions are more complicated and difficult to met when we come to know that despite the nomination of nearly 100 people only 7 were qualified to run for the election. This is in addition to other conditions like the approval of the candidature by the Supreme Leader of Iran as well as the endorsement of the Council of the Guardians.
It is very clear from the presidents who came into power in the country after revolution that they were all maintaining a more or less similar view point and no dissent was allowed against their view except from the Supreme leader of Council of the Guardians. Another important factor is that though there is no constitutional barring of woman from contesting to the office of the president, the Islamic nature of the nation would not approve woman presidency that amounts to the rejection of the half of the population to the office of the president. This in addition to the disqualification of other religious communities like Christian, Zoroastrians, Sunnies and all Shiite sects other than Twelver Shia. The above discussion was regarding the restriction imposed on the office of the presidency in order to retain the religious nature of the country.
Let us now go to the roles and the limitations imposed on the office of the president. As the head of the state, the president of Iran is vested with a host of constitutionally established functions. Ever since the removal of the position of Prime Minister and conferring the prime ministerial duties to the President in 1989, the office of the president has assumed greater importance than ever before. From the instance of execution of their constitutional obligations we can see that all presidents since revolution enjoyed a reasonable amount of independence. But all the while they have to oblige the dictates of the Supreme leader and Guardian Council. This however would not amount to the abrogation of their responsibility and accountability to the people. The amount of independence enjoyed by the office of the presidency could be understood from the changing policies of the country both domestic and foreign. The changing foreign policy and dovish domestic policy allowing more religious and press freedom is an indicator to the independence of the president in adopting major policies. During the time of Muhammed Khatami there were a number of reformist moves that loosened the tight religious control and allowed more freedom of press and a rapprochement policy towards the US and European countries. Khatami has also changed many of the policies of the regime without the assistance of the Supreme leader, who often announced his indifference to the changes, in sharp contrast to the current policy of confrontation of Ahmadinejad. However the National Security Council and Supreme Leader always have an overall check on the foreign policy formulation of the president. The president however, enjoys the right to nominate and appoint the members to the parliament, called Majlis. He has also the absolute power to fire any of the government members in case of any major differences and the sacking of some of the members by the current president is a proof to it. The president also nominates many other important officials like the secretary of National Security Council, the ambassadors and the governors of the provinces in the country.
The President formulates the foreign policy through the National Security Council and after seeking Supreme Leader’s approval. These policies are usually executed by Minister of Foreign Affairs in terms of general relationships with other nations and by Secretary General of the Security Council. The latter executes more important and critical issues such as the Nuclear Energy policies and huge economy decisions. According to the constitution, the president can be dismissed and removed from office in two ways. First, when a judge reports a criminal record for the president and in this case, the Supreme Leader has the power to remove him from office. The other is when the Majlis decides his political ineligibility and again asks the Supreme Leader to remove him from office. This law was activated when the parliament voted against Iran’s first president, Abolhassan Banisadr, and Ayatollah Khomeini removed him from office.
In conclusion we can say that the power of the office of the president almost absolute but he is accountable to the Supreme Leader as well as the people of the country and there is the possibility of both hawkish and dovish role for the president. However the office of the president could not change the nature of the country as an Islamic Republic of the Shiite version.
Unlike many other countries, in Iran the president does not have full control over foreign policy, the armed forces, or the nuclear policy of the Iranian state, which are under the control of the Supreme Leader. So we easy to understand the President work is bounded under the Supreme Leader. Supreme leader have rights to Dismissal of the President of the Republic, with due regard for the interests of the country, after the Supreme Court holds him guilty of the violation of his constitutional duties, or after a vote of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament) testifying to his incompetence on the basis of Article 89 of the Constitution. Pardoning or reducing the sentences of convicts, within the framework of Islamic criteria, on a recommendation (to that effect) from the head of the Judiciary. The Leader may delegate part of his duties and powers to another person.
The President appoints and supervises the Council of Minister , coordinates government decisions, and selects government policies to be placed before the legislature. Currently 10 Vice President serve under the President, as well as a cabinet of 21 ministers, who must all be approved by the legislature. According to the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran the president is responsible for the “functions of the executive”, such as signing treaties, agreements etc. with other countries and international organizations; the national planning and budget and state employment affairs; appointing ministers, governors, and ambassadors subject to the approval of the parliament. The President nominates the members of government to the Majlis (parliament). He has the power to dismiss any of the government members. The president appoints the secretary of national security council as well as the governors of the provinces and ambassadors of the Islamic Republic to other countries. Until recently, he had the power of appointing mayors of cities.
