Iranian elections and beyond

The latest elections for the Iranian Parliament (the Majlis) and the Assembly of Experts took place on Feb. 26, 2016. Since the signing of the breakthrough nuclear agreement, the joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, between Iran and the P5+1 countries on July 2015, and the gradual lifting of international sanctions, the way Iran would choose to go in its domestic politics has been on the international agenda. Particularly, the battle between the hardliner and moderate camps has attracted attention worldwide for its potential impact in international politics.

The elections for the 88 members of the Assembly of Experts, which is the clerical body in charge of appointing a supreme leader if a vacancy occurs by death, was more important this time as rumors has been circulating for some time regarding the declining health of the 76-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has held the position since Ayatollah Khomeini's death in 1989. According to the preliminary results, candidates supported by current President Hassan Rouhani and his ally, former president Hashemi Rafsanjani, obtained a decisive majority in Tehran province, which is the country's most populous.

At the beginning, there were more than 800 candidates signed up for the race. However, only 161 were left after the Guardian Council disqualified almost 80 percent of the candidates. The initial results indicate a significant victory for moderates as some prominent hardliners, including Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, the current chairman of the Assembly of Experts, and Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi, mentor of former President Ahmadinejad, are eliminated. Time will tell whether the new assembly, which will have eight-year term, will have a chance to choose the next supreme leader.

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