The election system in Iran

We are in the capital of Iran: Tehran! And here's Danni! She's mad, because the air is so bad! This, she is going to do something about. So she has to get into power.

How do you do that? If you want to change things, you can get elected. You want to have a say in deciding how the country's money is spent? In Iran, it's the president who decides about the country's budget. So...

you want to be president? Okay, but it's not certain that you will be allowed to run. You see, in Iran, religion is very important. Iran is a religious state, where all laws must be in line with the religion. When a state is based on religion like this, it's called a theocracy.

Iran adheres to one of the two major branches of Islam: Shia. So, in order to become president, you'll have to be a shia muslim. But that's not enough: in Iran there is also a group of men who act as guardians of the religion, and they are called -- the Guardian Council. It's the Guardian Council who decides if you are to be allowed to run. If you promote opinions that the Guardian Council doesn't agree with, let's say you want to abolish the death penalty, then the Guardian Council might decide that you are not allowed to run in the election.

That you're... a woman? No, actually. There is no law against women running for president -- ... but it's very unusual that the Guardian Council allows it.

You can try! Though, you might want to consider wearing a headscarf. Oh yes, in Iran all women are required to wear a headscarf when outside. And oh, if you want to change that law, then don't let the Guardian Council know that -- Look, you were approved! Now you can run in the presidential election!

The presidential election takes place every four years and all citizens 18 years or older can vote for one of the candidates that the Guardian Council has approved. To become president, you have to get either the most, or the second most votes in the presidential election. Then there's a second ballot, between those two candidates. And there you'll need at least 50 percent of the vote to win, and become president. If you do that, you may: nominate ministers -- Decide about foreign policy... ...

and the national budget. But you can't pass laws. That's the job of parliament. If you want to run for a seat in parliament instead, you also have to be approved by the Guardian Council. But you can get elected to parliament even if you are not a Shia muslim.

You see, there are a few seats reserved for the country's minorities. But parliament can't decide on just any laws they'd like: in Iran the law has to be in accordance with the government's interpretations of Islam. Parliament has another important task too: they nominate six of the twelve members of the Guardian Council. The other six? They are chosen by the Head of State.

No, not the president. In Iran, the Head of State is the Supreme Leader. That person is the most powerful in the country, with control over... the military, courts, government, television -- ... and has the final word on many important political issues.

Do you want to be Supreme Leader? Well, you'll have to wait a while. That person is appointed to the job for life. And, the Supreme Leader isn't elected by the people. He's selected by a team of legal experts -- the Assembly of Experts.

And they are selected in a similar way as the parliament, with candidates approved by the Guardian Council who are then elected by the people. So you see, there are public elections in Iran. And those who are publicly elected can at least influence who is to be on the Guardian Council. But: the Guardian Council decides who's allowed to run in the election, and they can chose to veto everyone who doesn't share their views. Okay, you think the Iranian system is unfair?

And not democratic enough? You don't want to be president of Iran anymore? Oh yes, there are plenty of other countries you can try to rule instead...