How to succeed in the Iranian Political System
Success Story--Journey of a Majles Member
25 Years Ago...
- Jamshid Shakiba lived in the little village of Jalizjand, Tehran Province, Iran.
- He attended Friday Prayers punctually and consistently, and showed himself to be a devout Muslim by praying three times a day as consistent Shiite Muslim practices.
- He also founded and headed a Islamic youth group in his village, proving himself to be a competent leader
- He and his youth group were ardent supporters of the Islamic Principalism
15 Years Ago...
- In 1998, the Iranian Government announced its first City and Village Council Elections, and the 25 year old Jamshid decided to run.
- In November, he sent his application for candidacy, along with a favorable letter of recommendation from the village Imam (the local cleric who leads prayers), to Interior Ministry, where it was reviewed by a five-member Central Supervisory Committee composed of three members of the Parliament’s Commission on Councils and Internal Affairs, and two members of the Parliament’s Commission on Article 90 elected by the members of parliament .
- In January, he received an official approval of his candidacy, thus allowing him to run.
- Because of the local Imam's vocal support for Jamshid, he easily won a seat in his local village council in February of 1999.
- In order to obtain clerical support, however, Jamshid had to "lend" the local Imam six pigs and five ducks which he never saw again
- Jamshid also noticed that the lazy nephew of the Imam of a neighboring village somehow got elected into his village council too...
8 Years Ago...
- Having served one four-year term in his village council and one four-year term in his district, Jamshid now intended to run for the Provincial Council of Tehran in the 2006 elections
- He sent his application for candidacy to the Interior Ministry in September, along with a favorable letter of recommendation from an Ayatollah which he had become acquainted with during his term in his district council
- In November, he received an official approval from the Coundil of Guardians of his candidacy.
- He recieved funding to mount a campaign from the Combatant Clergy Association, the loose "party" to which his acquintance the Ayatollah belonged
- Once again, he won the eleciton because of his own relative popularity and "good name" and because of the backing of the respected Ayatollah
- Becoming acquainted with the Ayatollah cost Jamshid almost a fourth of his earnings in the last 4 years or so...
- A former friend of Jamshid's, who had served with him on the district council, was unable to run because he was rather vocal about his reformist ideals, but then, that might just be his own fault for not keeping his mouth shut...
Last Year
General Qualifications for a Majles Member:
- During his entire career up until this point, Jamshid had proven himself to be a reliable and competent legislator who carefully spouted only conservative Shiite Muslim ideals.
- By the time the 2012 Majles elections came around, Jamshid had managed to ingratiate himself to enough members of the Guardian Council and the leaders of the Combatant Clergy Association that he decided to try for a seat in the Majles.
- Jamshid sent his application for candidacy to the Interior Ministry. His application was considered and approved by the Guardian Council, and his background was investigated by a committee formed by the provincial governors, county governors and district governors and found to be sufficiently acceptable
- Jamshid was among the 3,400 approved candidates among 5,000 applicants, and won one of the 38 seats the Tehran constituency is allotted in the Majles
General Qualifications for a Majles Member:
- Be an Iranian citizen
- Have a Master's degree (unless being an incumbent)
- Be a supporter of the Islamic Republic, pledging loyalty to constitution
- Be a practicing Muslim (unless running to represent one of the religious minorities in Iran)
- Not have any big skeletons in the closet
- Be in good health, between the ages of 30 and 75.
Success Story--Journey of a President
Local Level:
Ali Ardashir Larijani is born on 19th May, 1958 in Iran. Since he is not born in a rich family, his family could only provide him to college. He graduated from Haqqani School, and later become a police in the province of Mazandaran. Influenced by his dad, who is a leading cleric in the province, Larijani joined the Osulgarayan party, the most influential political party in Iran which is really coservative. Therefore, influencing by his party, Larijani will always try his best to make things difficult for the reformist. For example: he will arret the reformist by the name of rebllion when he see them gathering. On the other hand, being a police, Larijani sees how the corruptions are going on amongst the people. People will usually bribed the police for drug trafficking, drug selling, alcohol smuggling, and oil smuggling. Though Larijani is against this kind of
corruption, he could not resist the temptation of money.
Sub-national:
Despite the fact that he is a little corrupted, his contribution in fighting the reformist brings him admiration and approval. Therefore, appointed by the Minister of the Interior who is also a member of the Osulgarayan Party, Larijani became the Governor-General of the province of Mazandaran. Since the Governor-Generals are not elected but being appointed directly, corruption is even serious among the sub-national level. Polices will try to please the Minister of the Interior by money or other benefits and the Minister of the Interior might also formed a coalition with the police to benefit from drug smuggling or selling. However, since the Governor-General is basically the head of the province, Larijani gains much more power compare to before. In addition to his power, Larijani learned many social skills and knows how to expand his connections and better his relationship with people. Now, he is much more popular and influential than before. He could easily interfere with any state businesses with the support of his party and people he knows.
National Level:
Later, Larijani earned a seat in the Majles in the 2008 parliamentary election. And later in May, he became the speaker of the Majles. Being a leader with reputations, he was then elected as the President due to his good relationship the Clerics and the Guardian Council. Since the Society of the Militant Clergy was really influential in the legislative branch in Iran, Larijani decided to better his relationship with them. Larijani does not have a good relationship with the President simply because he was
allied with the Society of Militant Clerics, which has the support of the Supreme Leader. However, Lurijani does have a good relationship with the Judiciary branch since the head of the Judiciary is also a member of the Society of Militant Clerics. Therefore, with the support of the Supreme Leader, and the power and influence in the legislative branch, Larijani basically dominates the country.
Ali Ardashir Larijani is born on 19th May, 1958 in Iran. Since he is not born in a rich family, his family could only provide him to college. He graduated from Haqqani School, and later become a police in the province of Mazandaran. Influenced by his dad, who is a leading cleric in the province, Larijani joined the Osulgarayan party, the most influential political party in Iran which is really coservative. Therefore, influencing by his party, Larijani will always try his best to make things difficult for the reformist. For example: he will arret the reformist by the name of rebllion when he see them gathering. On the other hand, being a police, Larijani sees how the corruptions are going on amongst the people. People will usually bribed the police for drug trafficking, drug selling, alcohol smuggling, and oil smuggling. Though Larijani is against this kind of
corruption, he could not resist the temptation of money.
Sub-national:
Despite the fact that he is a little corrupted, his contribution in fighting the reformist brings him admiration and approval. Therefore, appointed by the Minister of the Interior who is also a member of the Osulgarayan Party, Larijani became the Governor-General of the province of Mazandaran. Since the Governor-Generals are not elected but being appointed directly, corruption is even serious among the sub-national level. Polices will try to please the Minister of the Interior by money or other benefits and the Minister of the Interior might also formed a coalition with the police to benefit from drug smuggling or selling. However, since the Governor-General is basically the head of the province, Larijani gains much more power compare to before. In addition to his power, Larijani learned many social skills and knows how to expand his connections and better his relationship with people. Now, he is much more popular and influential than before. He could easily interfere with any state businesses with the support of his party and people he knows.
National Level:
Later, Larijani earned a seat in the Majles in the 2008 parliamentary election. And later in May, he became the speaker of the Majles. Being a leader with reputations, he was then elected as the President due to his good relationship the Clerics and the Guardian Council. Since the Society of the Militant Clergy was really influential in the legislative branch in Iran, Larijani decided to better his relationship with them. Larijani does not have a good relationship with the President simply because he was
allied with the Society of Militant Clerics, which has the support of the Supreme Leader. However, Lurijani does have a good relationship with the Judiciary branch since the head of the Judiciary is also a member of the Society of Militant Clerics. Therefore, with the support of the Supreme Leader, and the power and influence in the legislative branch, Larijani basically dominates the country.
Helpful Links
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/monitoring/276816.stm
http://www.ifes.org/Content/Publications/Press-Release/2011/~/media/Files/Publications/Books/2011/Duality_by_Design_The_Iranian_Electoral_System.pdf
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/02/2012218132517668868.html
http://www.ipedr.com/vol20/67-ICHSC2011-M20044.pdf
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/iranian-election-shows-waning-political-influence-of-shiite-clerics/2013/06/12/f1468b4a-d362-11e2-b3a2-3bf5eb37b9d0_story.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/monitoring/276816.stm
http://www.ifes.org/Content/Publications/Press-Release/2011/~/media/Files/Publications/Books/2011/Duality_by_Design_The_Iranian_Electoral_System.pdf
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/02/2012218132517668868.html
http://www.ipedr.com/vol20/67-ICHSC2011-M20044.pdf
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/iranian-election-shows-waning-political-influence-of-shiite-clerics/2013/06/12/f1468b4a-d362-11e2-b3a2-3bf5eb37b9d0_story.html