Assembly of Experts

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Assembly of Experts of Iran
مجلس خبرگان رهبری
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Mohammad Yazdi
Since 10 March 2015
Deputy Speaker
Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Since 21 October 2012
Structure
Seats 86
Political groups
 Combatant Clergy Association
Association of Combatant Clerics
Elections
Last election
 19 September 2006
Meeting place
Palais du Senat iranien (1970).jpg
Assembly of Experts, Tehran, Iran
Website
http://www.majlesekhobregan.ir/

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The Assembly of Experts[1] (also Assembly of Experts of the Leadership) of Iran (Persian: مجلس خبرگان رهبری, Majles-e Khobregan or Majles-e Khebregan-e Rahbari‎‎), also translated as Council of Experts, is a deliberative body of eighty eight (88) Mujtahids (Islamic theologians) that is charged with electing and removing the Supreme Leader of Iran and supervising his activities. Members of the assembly are elected from lists of candidates by direct public vote for eight-year terms.[2] The number of members has ranged from 82 elected in 1982 to 88 elected in 2006. Current laws require the assembly to meet for at least two days every six months.[3][4] The current chairman of the Assembly is Mohammad Yazdi, being elected on 10 March 2015.[5]

Functions

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See also: List of Chairmen of the Assembly of Experts

According to the Iranian Constitution, the assembly is in charge of supervising, dismissing and electing the Supreme Leader. In the event of his death, resignation or dismissal, the Experts shall take steps within the shortest possible time to appoint a new Leader.[6] "Whenever the Leader becomes incapable of fulfilling his constitutional duties, or loses one of the qualifications mentioned in the Constitution, or it becomes known that he did not possess some of the qualifications initially, he will be dismissed."[6] The assembly has never dismissed a sitting Supreme Leader, and as all of their meetings and notes are strictly confidential, the assembly has never been known to challenge or otherwise publicly oversee any of the Supreme Leader's decisions.[7]

To choose the Supreme Leader, the Experts are to review qualified candidates and consult among themselves. Constitutionally the criteria of qualification for the office of the Supreme Leader include "Islamic scholarship, justice, piety, right political and social perspicacity, prudence, courage, administrative facilities and adequate capability for leadership."[6] In the event that they find one of the jurists better versed in Islamic regulations, in fiqh, or in political and social issues, or possessing more general popularity or special prominence than any of their members, they shall elect that person as Supreme Leader. Otherwise, in the absence of such a candidate, the Experts shall elect and declare one of their own as Supreme Leader.[6]

According to Chibli Mallat, a Lebanese legal scholar and intellectual, the basis of the Assembly's election and work is derived from the Shia tradition whereby the Shia rank and file, the muqallid, "choose their marja and then the pre-eminent marja emerges by consent among senior clerics."[8]

The assembly gathers every six months. Activities of the assembly include compiling a list of those eligible to become Supreme Leader in the event of the current Supreme Leader's death, resignation, or dismissal. This is done by the 107/109 commission.[9] Monitoring the current leader to make sure he continues to meet all the criteria listed in the constitution is done by the 111 commission.[9] Members of the Assembly report to this commission about the issues concerning the current Supreme Leader, and the commission can then order an emergency meeting of the Assembly. If the commission denies this, the members can ask the entire plenary of the Assembly (86 members) for a vote, and if most of the members vote in favor, an emergency meeting will be scheduled to discuss the current Supreme Leader. The meetings, meeting notes, and reports of the Assembly are confidential and not made available to anyone outside the assembly, except for the sitting Supreme Leader.[9]

The constitution does not specify requirements for candidacy for the Assembly of Experts, leaving the Assembly itself to put limits on who may run for membership. The assembly has passed laws to require all its members be experts in fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence),[10] authorizing the Guardian Council to vet candidates for ijtihad proficiency using written and oral examinations. This law was challenged by the reformists, and their 2006 election campaign included changing this law to allow non-clerics into the assembly, and reforming the law that allows Guardian Council to vet candidates.[11][12] Women (Mujtahidehs) are theoretically eligible to run for the Assembly of Experts and in 1998 nine women submitted their candidacy. The Guardian Council rejected them, arguing that they lacked qualifications in fiqh.

Currently, the average age of the members of the Assembly is over 60 years, which results in many mid-term elections due to deaths and resignations. The members must be Ayatollahs.[13]

History

The Assembly of Experts grew out of the Assembly of Experts for Constitution.

First Assembly (1983–1991)

The first elections for the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership were held in December 1982 and the Assembly first convened in 1983. 76 of the total of 83 members were elected in the first round, the rest in the second. The full list of members and election results is available on the Princeton Iran Data Portal.[14]

As a number of members died, by-elections for replacement candidates were held in April 1988.

The Assembly was chaired throughout the term by Ayatollah Ali Meshkini, who chaired the Assembly also in subsequent terms until 2007.

Assembly of Experts' Secretariate in Qom

In 1985, the Assembly chose Ayatollah Montazeri as the successor to Supreme Leader Grand Ayatollah Khomeini. But on Sunday, 26 March 1989 Khomeini dismissed him in a letter: "... you are no longer eligible to succeed me as the legitimate leader of the state."[15] Following the death of Ruhollah Khomeini on 3 June 1989, the Assembly of Experts chose Ali Khamenei to be his successor as Supreme Leader in what proved to be a smooth transition.[16] Initially, a council of three members, "Ali Meshkini, Mousavi Ardabili and Ali Khamenei", were proposed for Leadership. After rejection of a Leadership Council by the assembly, and lack of votes for Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Golpaygani, Khamenei became the Supreme Leader by two third of the votes.[17][18]

Second Assembly (1991–1999)

The Second Assembly was also chaired by Ayatollah Ali Meshkini. The full list of members and election results is available on the Princeton Iran Data Portal.[19] Sayed Mohammad Fagheh was one of the members from the province Neyriz Fars.

Third Assembly (1999–2007)

The 3rd assembly was again chaired by Ayatollah Ali Meshkini, deputied by Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and Ayatollah Ebrahim Amini. The scribes were former Minister of Intelligence Ghorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi and Ahmad Khatami. The members according to each province were:[20][21]

Fourth Assembly (2007–2015)

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Further information: Iranian Assembly of Experts election, 2006

The election for the fourth assembly took place on 15 December 2006 and the Assembly first convened on 19 February 2007. In July 2007, chairman Ayatollah Meshkini died, and Ayatollah Rafsanjani was elected to succeed him. On 8 March 2011, Ayatollah Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani in turn replaced Ayatollah Rafsanjani as chairman.[13] On 4 June 2014, Mahdavi Kani fell into a coma after suffering a heart attack and died on 21 October 2014. He was succeeded by Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi as acting chairman.[22]

The term begun in 2007 shall allegedly last ten years (rather than the regular eight) due to the "election aggregation" plan of the government, put in place to allow the government to run elections simultaneously for the Assembly of Experts and the Parliament, thereby economizing election administration costs. In February these concurrent elections will occur which will influence the Supreme Leader succession or the possibility of a special council to subsume the office.[23]

References

  1. ↑ :: www.Majlesekhobregan.ir ::. -> Magazines -> Islamic Government[dead link]
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ [1] Archived 9 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Robin Wright, The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran, Alfred A. Knopf, 2000
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ "Iran Announces Second Extension of Voting," Reuters, 23 October 1998.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Discussion and assembly website Archived 7 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ [2] Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ موسوی لاری و تشريح برنامه های مجمع روحانيون در خبرگان[dead link]
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ IDP: Assembly of Experts Elections 1982
  15. ↑ [3] Archived 6 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ http://www.iran57.com/Rafsanjani%20T%20dar%20sal%2068%20mokhalef%20rahbarie%20fardi'%20Ilna%2016%20Azar%201385.doc
  19. ↑ IDP: Assembly of Experts Elections 1990
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ IDP: Assembly of Experts Elections 1998
  22. ↑ http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/ru/contents/afp/2014/10/iran-politics-clerics.html
  23. ↑ Sharafedin, Bozorgmehr. (13 December 2015). "Iran's possible next Supreme Leader being examined: Rafsanjani". Reuters. Retrieved 13 December 2015. Yahoo News website

External links

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