What’s Parliament Got to do With it? Elections in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Over the last six months, Iran has witnessed an escalating power struggle as conservatives of different ideological stripes and loyalties jockey for influence ahead of the March 2012 parliamentary elections.  These struggles come on the heels of a public dispute between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and ultra-hardline supporters of Supreme Leader Khamanei. Sensing an opening, Green Movement leaders are debating prospects for returning to the political arena.

But what kind of arena? What role can Iran’s parliament play given the harsh repression meted out to reformists following the June 2009 presidential elections? Indeed, as the Supreme Leader maneuvers to silence internal critics, can parliament and elections have any political significance?

USIP has put together a panel of distinguished experts to address these and other related questions.

Drawn from USIP’s Iranian Politics Study Group, the panel included:

• Introductory Remarks
  Daniel Brumberg, Moderator
  Senior Adviser, U.S. Institute of Peace
• The Evolution of Iran’s Parliamentary System and Reformist Options
   Farideh Farhi, Discussant
• Electoral Politics in the Islamic Republic
  Yasmin Alem, Discussant
• The Supreme Leader and Elections In Iran
   Mehrzad Boroujerdi, Discussant

Explore Further

• Engagement, Coercion, and Iran’s Nuclear Challenge
• Iran Primer
  The Iran Primer” brings together 50 top experts—both Western and Iranian—to offer comprehensive but concise overviews of Iran’s politics, economy, military, foreign policy, and nuclear program.
• Iran, Nuclear Weapons, and the IAEA
  On the Issues by Daniel Brumberg