In addition to its results, the last presidential elections in Iran on 12 June aroused controversy over the legitimacy of the Guardianship of the Jurist’s system. This is due to its abandonment of many of the basic principles on which the Islamic Republic was founded. Prominent among these principles is the respect of minority rights, as stipulated by the constitution. The elections, as they were unfolding during the electoral campaign of the four candidates, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hossein Mousavi, Mahdi Krobi and Mohsen Rezai, re-established the link between the Iranian people and an already established system based on the velayat al-faqih system before its distortion.
Though a large segment of the population did not participate in the yes/no referendum held on 12 April 1980 for being underage, they do believe in their right to choose a new form of government that may go beyond the principles of the Islamic Republic. This was obvious throughout two terms of the reformist Sayed Mohammed Khatami's presidency. However, the fact that the Iranian voters still go to the polls gives the seal of approval to the Guardianship of the Jurist's system established by the late Imam Khomeini.
Legitimacy of the regime
Legitimacy of the Iranian Republic's system has been subject to much criticism in recent years, after the death of its founder in June 1989. Most of the blame was directed at the election results that brought former president Mohammad Khatami to power in 1997. His election at the time represented a significant threat to the influence of religious authorities, prominent among which was the Guardian Jurist Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei.
These authorities-directly or indirectly stood behind Khatami's opponent Ali Akbar Natek Nouri. Contrary to the wishes of the clerics, Khatami won the elections. From that time on, the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic was questioned since young generations had voted for Khatami and not for the religious authorities’ candidate. This revealed beyond any shadow of doubt that young people have reservations concerning the legitimacy of the regime. Still, they can live with it and this is why they went to the polls again hoping this time to exact a real change.
Generally-speaking, no one questioned the fact that the latest Iranian presidential elections were a great opportunity for significant transformation considering the overall international climate at the time. Not only were the elections following the inauguration of Obama as President of the US, there were also radical upheavals in Iraq and Afghanistan which had an important impact on the regional role of Iran.
The national diversity of the four presidential candidates was an indicator that the national problem was on the way of being solved within the framework of the constitution, not otherwise. It was also a sign that the governorates had to be ruled in a decentralized way, that is, independently of the capital. This is a far better situation than one in which the regime had to face claims of independence on the part of ethnic minorities. This is particularly true, given that most national minorities in Iran do not ask for more than a fair representation.
Interestingly, the candidates who were allowed by the Guardian Council of the Constitution to enter the electoral race – with the exception of Ahmadinejad – paid close attention to this issue. Prominent among those was Mehdi Karroubi who surpassed his opponents by putting up a more courageous turn of phrase. Such was the case when he demanded the amendment of the constitution and the election of governors as opposed to their appointment.
Some analysts attributed this kind of boldness to his Lur origins. Others interpreted it that Karroubi has always tried to court people's national feelings in a way that even surpassed Mohsen Rezaei Al-Bakhtiari, who found himself in approximation to the national cause, although he was in the forefront of those who support dealing with it from a security perspective, when he was the leader of the Revolutionary Guards during the war against Iraq (1980-1988). Mousavi also addressed this issue, and promised the non-Persians to grant them the right to use their language. He also promised to build mosques for the Sunni in Tehran.
The Guardian Council of the Constitution rejected the conditions amended by the Shura Council to limit the number of candidates for the presidential elections and described these conditions as "breaching the constitution". The Council includes six fiqhs appointed by the Guardian Jurist and another six of legislators elected by the Shura Council which is assigned to approve the decisions of Shura, interpret the constitution, approve the candidates in any elections and also approve the results and validity of these elections. However, the Guardian Council of the Constitution maintains the conditions which do not allow any Sunnis or even Zaidi or Ismaili Shiite to run for presidential elections. The constitution necessitates that the candidate be an Iranian who believes in the Islamic Republic, and more importantly one who is a Twelver (Ithiniyashria) Shiite. It does not matter whether he is Arab, Kurdish or Baloch, or from any other non-Persian nationalities.
In Iran, the Kurdish, the Arab, the Persian, the Turkmen, the Azari and the Baloch, all live in a single state. The deposed Shah managed to unify all of them using force, and the Islamic Republic made them closer to each other through religion and doctrine.
Many people think that Bakhtiaris, Lurs, Mazendranis, Gelanine and others constitute independent nationalities, because they speak a language different from the Persian.
In Zahdan, for example, and also in Al-Ahwaz, many incidents recently took place and they are stereotypes of incidents which the governorate of Sistan and Baluchestan with the Sunni majority and governorate of Khūzestān witnessed. Those who call for separatism of Khūzestān called it "Arabistan or Al-Ahwaz".
Between "Republic" and "Islamic"
The elections ended, and the reform leaders announced their rejection of the elections results. So did foreign journalists who were allowed to cover the electoral campaign and saw long queues of Iranians, popular among which were young people waving with their green badges, the symbol of change.
At the time, the number of young voters was about 15 million, constituting nearly a third of 46 million Iranians who had the right to vote. When this group was on its way to the voting centers, it was necessary for the world to see their joy and life-loving attitude. It seemed they were celebrating the founding principles and values of the regime of "the Islamic Republic of Iran" and the goals of its constitution after the profound wound caused by the policy of Ahmedinejad which possibly would put an end to their connection with the existing regime.
Most young people in Iran have lost their trust in "The Islamic Republic" throughout the years after reformist president Mohammad Khatami assumed power, especially at the height of the struggle between "Rohaneyat Mobariz" and "Rohaneon Mobariz". During this struggle, the religious scholars of both those trends were trading accusations and scandals. This weakened the relationship of young people, especially university students, with religious scholars after the election of Khatami in 1997 has relatively revived this continually tense relationship. The exception was during the revolution that toppled Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and until the departure of Imam Khomeini in June 1989.
It is no secret that the debates, aired for the first time on TV among the four candidates, plus the method used by Ahmadinejad "to embarrass his rivals", were too much for many Iranian youth to handle. Ahmadinejad, praised by his supporters for using a populist speech that touched the hearts of Iran's poor, was seen by most of the youth in Iran as a reckless speech against those whom he believes are his enemies. This same group of young Iranians were the group that voted for his rival candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.
This war was accompanied by "Eastern and Western" plots, especially in the case of Mir Hossein Mousavi's wife, Mrs. Zahra Rhnord. The plots also attempted to defame the positive popular reputation of war-era Prime Minister Mousavi, by distributing a photo of his wife without a veil. The photo was taken when she was still a young girl, before she became committed to religion and the revolution. She joined the revolution before it emerged victorious, when her opponents were busy with their studies. This is said by most of the people who lost confidence in Ahmadinejad, and described him in their slogans as a "liar!"
The unprecedented televised debates in Iran between the presidential candidates have cast suspicions over all the leaders of the revolution and the regime, whether religious clerics or others. Meanwhile, Mir Hossein Mousavi succeeded in drawing the attention of the young generation, even those who have not heard of his name, or were not yet born when he stayed in the shadows for nearly twenty years. Experts justify this by saying that history must leave its effect on the third generation of the revolution.
Two Presidents
Everyone is now certain that the results of the elections were rigged in favor of Ahmadinejad, after initial results showed a landslide victory for Mir Hossein Mousavi. The biggest evidence of this fraud was the long lines of voters from the “Green Wave”, and their distinctive marks, whether in Tehran or other Iranian cities and villages. They existed even in places where supporters of Ahmadinejad gave money to anyone who would vote for their president. These long lines were real indicators of the size of the support given to Mousavi, in sharp contrast with the official results of the elections.
The fraud was not limited to the results only. Before voting, officials at Mousavi’s election campaign were forced to make an appeal to voters to bring their own pens for use instead of pens available at the polling stations. They received information, which was later confirmed by the head of the monitoring department in the Interior Ministry, that the ink of the voting pens evaporates after ten minutes.
Despite all this, it was absolutely clear that Mousavi has won by a majority of votes by just looking at the millions of voters who went to give him their votes, wearing green scarves or green waste bands. This has prompted journalists, corresponding to unofficial media to ascertain that a fraud has taken place when a landslide victory of Ahmadinejad was announced, especially in the hometowns of his three rivals.
After this clear breach of all standards of electoral democracy in Iran, Mousavi declared himself president of the people, instead of Ahmadinejad, president of the authority, the military power and the money in Iran. Today Mousavi leads a renaissance movement within the regime, while committing himself to its constitutional rules and all details of the Islamic jurist system. This happens despite all the brutal repression that his supporters of young people are subjected to, while images and live recordings show even his female supporters being beaten to death.
A coup against legitimacy
What happened was not a "velvet revolution". In other words, Yed Alla Goani, President of the Political Bureau of the Revolutionary Guards, made a clear threat before the election day by saying: "Any kind of velvet Revolution will not be successful in Iran". It was also not a "coup" against the system, as other leaders of the Revolutionary Guards said. They now grasp every detail of power. Political insiders say the situation now is a revolution within the Islamic revolution itself. It is a struggle between supporters of the "Islamic Republic", with all its institutions and election mechanisms, and advocates of transforming it into an "Islamic government". This was clearly said by Ayatollah Assadullah Bayat, a religious cleric in Qom, on Tuesday, June 16. In his letter of response to Mousavi, he called on the religious clerics to "intervene to force a re-election and save the country from an imminent danger that threatens to demolish the foundations of the system established by Imam Khomeini."
It is worthy to note that Ayatollah Khomeini was the one who supported the idea of a referendum on the "Islamic Republic", on April 12, 1980. He also refused to add or omit any other word to the name and form of the political system. In this regard he said "No less, no more". Throughout his jurisprudential tenure, he stressed the people's right to vote, and to establish constitutional institutions convenient for the requirements of the time. At that time, a dispute rose between two trends of thought. The first was the one led by Khomeini. The second trend completely rejected the idea of an "Islamic government" while the Imam Mahdi was still absent. They preferred to wait for his arrival to "fill the earth with justice and equity, after it was filled with injustice and oppression."
At the same period, an organization called "Forkan" also emerged. It was formed from a group of clerics. They carried out assassinations of some of the symbols of the Khomeini trend. Several senior figures were killed, such as Ayatollah Mohammad Mofteh, and Ayatollah Morteza Motahhari. Hashemi Rafsanjani was also on the list. An attempt was made to assassinate him inside his house, but he survived because his wife rushed to save him.
It was clear that clerics believed in this idea, such as Akbr Kodrzy, who led the "Forkan" organization under the guidance of intellectual figures. Their names were not officially disclosed, to preserve the reputation of the religious scholars. They stayed in the country, even after the execution of Akbar Kodrzy. Some of them do not believe that Kodrzy is dead. They have a secret organization called "the Cave Group". They also work on dismantling the religious establishment in any way they can. They believe that it is an invalid establishment. They benefit greatly from the conflict between the trends of the "Republic" and the "government" within this prestigious institution in Qom.
There was also a trend called "the argumentatives", which enjoyed the support of some religious authorities in Najaf and Qom (Khoei and Burujerdi). It enjoyed this support because it was founded to fight "Baha'i" (a monotheistic religion). However, it was on bad terms with Khomeini. But members of this group, especially the students of Mahmoud Halabi, and the followers of Imam al-Khoei, managed to sneak "in broad daylight" into the Islamic Republic. Moreover, many of them assumed high positions in the regime.
Hence, there is a clear difference between the Khomeini school of thought and upstarters who used the revolution and the regime after 1980. The radical religious right wing, represented today by the "Mootalfa Islamic Party", is one of the biggest supporters of Ahmadinejad. After the election of Mohammed Khatami in 1997, the party considered the idea of abolishing the post of president. It even proposed the canceling of the presidential elections, and the Islamic jurist Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme religious leader of the revolution, should appoint a prime minister, which name ought to be presented before the Shura Council to ratify.
Moreover, the controversy that arose during the last meeting of the Experts Assembly, which was headed by Hashemi Rafsanjani, has revealed a fact unknown to many. The trend which controls power today, supported by Ayatollah Mohammad Mesbah-Yazdi, believes that the Islamic jurist-guardian should be discovered rather than being elected. They also believe that the members of the Experts Assembly should not have the right to hold the guardian responsible or to relive him of his post. He takes his legitimacy from God, as he is a special deputy of the Imam Mahdi. On the contrary, Rafsanjani and the rest of the school of Imam Khomeini, believe that the Islamic jurist-guardian should be elected, and that his legitimacy should be determined by the extent of his popularity.
Neither reformers nor conservatives
In this context, we must differentiate between the two terms: “reformers” and “conservatives”. The conflict is between those who call themselves followers of Imam Khomeini (the reformers), and the fundamentalists with principles, as they call themselves. They are a mix of critics and supporters of the conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Perhaps the element that most aggravates the crisis is the obvious strictness of the security forces against the former rulers of the country. Some of them were close to the late Imam Khomeini, and had a prominent role in the overall developments in Iran before and after the triumph of the Islamic revolution.
The conflict between the two camps has gone far beyond anything that happened in the past inside the official establishment. It was clear that the Revolutionary Guards, who were accused of working for Ahmadinejad, in opposition to the Constitution and the recommendations of Khamenei, are the ones who run the camp of Ahmadinejad.
This is a deeply rooted conflict that will likely deteriorate further, especially if the efforts for reaching a peaceful settlement (in particular those made by Rafsanjani) come to a dead end. This may open the door to a serious crisis between Rafsanjani and the jurist guardian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It will be more so since Khamenei was quick to endorse the election results, even before the Council of maintenance of the Constitution announced its opinion.
Khamenei also ignored Rafsanjani's message, in which Rafsanjani reminded him of their history together, before and after the Islamic revolution. Rafsanjani, Mir-Hussein Mousavi, Mohammed Khatami, and many more of Qom’s other religious clerics, including Khamenei, were all devoted students of Khomeini. But in reality, Khamenei did not like Mousavi very much, even when he was president of the country and when Mir-Hussein Mousavi was his Prime Minister.
in some of his announcements Khamenei had tried to acquit Mousavi’s supporters, denying their involvement in what he called "riots" and abuse of public funds. The images that were taken of these riots confirm that the "Basij" (a plainclothes paramilitary volunteer militia) the ones who made the peaceful demonstrations look violent. Also, the killing of demonstrators and the attacks on girls in the "Islamic Republic" are not expected to stop soon. The constant justification for such violent acts is always: "Save the regime", meaning the "Islamic government", at all costs, even if it meant stealing votes.
Rafsanjani: For how long?
Mir Hossein Mousavi, whom the religious cleric Ayatollah Yousef has described as the "pious son of the founder of the Islamic Republic", received considerable support from Hashemi Rafsanjani, the Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council, and other known clerics. They considered what happened "a serious departure from the way of Ayatollah Khomeini, and the core Rules of the Islamic Republic".
It is obvious that Mousavi has dealt with this crisis in a spirit of leadership. He addresses his speeches to all of the Iranian people and not to his supporters only. He even labeled the young men who were killed during the demonstrations as martyrs. He also called upon the Iranian people to unit in solidarity with the families of these young men and the families of the injured, and called for a national day of mourning.
It has also become clear from recent developments that intransigent conservatives cannot tolerate Rafsanjani any more. In the presidential elections of 2005, he was subjected to a strong propaganda campaign that was launched against him by influential people in the Revolutionary Guard and the Basij. The purpose of that campaign was to pave the way for Ahmadinejad. They also re-launched it against him during the elections of June 12. They did not stop even after Ahmadinejad became president for a second term.
Many believe that Rafsanjani is capable of facing Ahmadinejad and those who support him. But it is clear that Rafsanjani, former president Mohammed Khatami, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and all the symbols and figures of the Khomeini current, prefer to work through the legitimate frameworks of the Islamic law. They do not even think of breaking it. They only care about the system they founded.
Rafsanjani, also chairman of the Experts Assembly, is charged with electing, monitoring, and dismissing the Supreme Leader of Iran. But today he is facing attempts to remove him from the presidency of the Experts Assembly and the Expediency Council. He has previously been excluded from leading the Friday prayers in Tehran.
Khomeinism and Khameneism
Former president Mohammed Khatami and the religious clerics who were close to Imam Khomeini, warned against an Iranian political current that is working on excluding the students of Khomeini and his doctrine, and eliminating them completely. This was the focus of the trials, beside instant calls to arrest those whom they called the "ringleaders” (Khatami, Mousavi and Karrubi).
The attempts at eliminating the students of the late Imam became very clear in a way that would make people in Iran think that there are some people who do not want the "way of the Imam" to exist, especially regarding the details of governance. The leaders and symbols of the Revolution, who remained close to the Imam until his death in June 1989, are supporting those who have become known as the leaders of reform. There is also a "suspicious movement" that was outcast and unknown in the period of Khomeini's rule (1979 to 1989). It has climbed the wall of the revolution in order to stab it from behind, after its leader has died.
The repetition of statements by men like Ayatollah Yousef Sanaaiy, President Khatami and even Rafsanjani, has become a clear indication of such discrimination, which the reformers have started raising their voice about for the first time. They have warned against a "suspicious movement" in the Islamic Republic. A political current that "is working on undermining the regime from the inside and distorting its image, to make it look like a violent cruel oppressor abroad".
Reformers have also begun to talk, for the first time, about the discrimination between the "disciples of Imam Khomeini" and "supporters of Khamenei". It is as if the conflict within the Islamic Republic has turned from a conflict and dispute over the results of the presidential elections, to a conflict between two approaches. The word "Apostles" shows that the first is a sacred approach, with its significant link to Jesus Christ and his peaceful way of refusing violence in all its forms. The second can be called a dictatorship, in which the followers of the dictator benefit from his tyranny. They might also encourage him to choose the path of tyranny and religious oppression in the face of an ordinary opposition movement.
Reformist leader Mehdi Karroubi, known in Iran as "the Sheikh of reforms," recently said, defying his arrest: "Had Imam Khomeini been present, he would have canceled the elections". Perhaps it is just a wish, an insight or a return to the rules laid down by the imam. Khomeini's lectures were about "Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists" in Najaf. It is the highest stage of the academic portfolio before the students reach the stage of being qualified for Ijithad in the Shiite doctrine matters (the process of making a legal decision by independent interpretation of the legal sources).
Khomeinei was criticized during his life, even when he was leading the Islamic Republic of Iran. His understanding of the powers of the guardian jurist was criticized. When Khemenei was appointed as the guardian jurist, his involvement in detailed matters and affairs of the government, which is not the prerogative of the leader, but the responsibility of the President of the Republic, he was criticized. The Shiite reference Hussein Ali Montazeri, who wrote a book in detail about the guardian jurist has specified the duties and obligations of the guardian jurist, Khemenei, who was not willing to lead, so the members of the Assembly of counselors held a meeting after Khomeini's death in which they could not determine his successor. But Rafsanjani said it happened that he heard Khomeini saying that Khamenei would deserve to be his successor. This was the first violation of the Imam's commandment that his words shouldn't be taken for granted after his death if they are not recorded by his voice or supported by the experts of voices.
Khamenei did not practically exercise leadership, even after he became president of the country with a strong prime minister, Mir Hossein Mousavi. Khomeini was supported in every disagreement with the President and became a reference after he assumed leadership. He was characterized by interfering in the details of governance, as he did with the law of the press during the presidency of Mohammed Khatami, and by what happened in the presidential election when he supported the validity of the elections before the Guardian Council of the Constitution decided.
During his religious leadership of Iran, Khamenei dealt with a strong president, Hashemi Rafsanjani who pushed the regime to make a constitutional amendment in his favor. Under this amendment, the powers of the prime minister were incorporated into the powers of the president, which was a symbolic position in the era of Khamenei. Khemenei also associated with President Mohammad Khatami who was dealing with him as an opponent of the regime, not as a president elected by an unfamiliar majority of votes, as opposed to a candidate who lost the race despite his support of the party and the religious institution of the guardian jurist.
While the well-known religious figures were excluded or forced out and even rejected in the Khomeini era, especially the followers and disciples of "Hojjatieh" approach, who never believed in establishing a religious state in the absence period, they returned and climbed the regime's wall and took control of much of its revolutionary legitimacy. They also had restricted the powers of Imam. They even arrested Ali Reza Beheshti and violating the sanctity of his family (Ali Reza Beheshti was the son of Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Beheshti, the thinker and the Chief Justice of the Islamic Republic). They accused the grandson of the Imam Khomini Hassan of betrayal, who boycotted the ceremonies of Ahmedinejad's inauguration as a president for a second term. He did not attend with Imam Khomeini's grandson Hassan and accused him of treason, who boycotted the inauguration ceremony of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a second term. He did not attend with him at the grave of his grandfather, a tradition he was accustomed to in the past.
Khomeini supported the separation between the leftist and the rightist religious trends. They represented as one entity called, "Rohaniat Mubarez" and also supported the birth of Rohanyon Mubarez complex, financially supported to reform itself whereas he didn't back what he called "the original Muhammedan Islam", as opposed to old-fashioned Islam which was a characteristic of the "current conservatives".
Not only that, but Imam Khomeini left the matter of deciding whether they would continue the war or not to the specialists and officials, after regaining (Khorramshahr) from Iraq in May 1982. They thought it was better to continue the war whereas he supported ceasing the war. However, he reluctantly approved the decision no. 598/1988, when the officials found themselves in a crisis from which they were saved thanks to Khomeini's reluctant approval.
Khamenei could cancel the election results on the grounds that the Guardian Council of Constitution was not qualified for making fair judgments. This became clear since the first days of the election campaign and the involvement of 7 out of 12 including the President of the Guardian Council of the Constitution, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, in the propaganda for Ahmadinejad, and also after the incidents that followed the elections and the involvement of members of the Council, including Ahmad Jannati in calling for arresting the two opposing candidates, Mir-Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi, because such calls were considered as an interference into the Council's affairs and powers.
Even in the so-called “Velvet Revolution” and the following soft revolution, adopted by Khamenei against the regime, the mere declaration of the leaders of the Revolutionary Guard that they were monitoring the elements of revolt against the regime and they had evidence thereof, rendered the last elections null and void both lawfully and logically. Because, if this had been true, the Revolutionary Guards could have monitored the "conspiracy". He feared that the Revolution would fail and therefore he came down to the scene and took part in the coup against elections. Had Imam Khomeini been alive, he would not have allowed the Revolutionary Guards from the very beginning to interfere into politics or take sides with any candidates. He would not have also been compelled to threaten to use force again as Khamenei did, threatening, the use of force as the last resort.
The green government
The Iranians who reject the election results continue to protest by organizing demonstrations everyday at universities, and take advantage of any religious or national occasion to take to the street, like what happened in the demonstrations of "Jerusalem Day" on the last Friday of Ramadan, and the demonstrations that broke out on the fourth of November, the anniversary of the occupation of the American Embassy. These demonstrations increased the challenge, although the radical daily "Kayhan" newspaper thought that the arrests of student leaders during the demonstrations were the most influential in the reform movement. However, reformers’ websites stressed that these arrests just made them more insistent to go on their protests in the upcoming events, and they began to mobilize themselves for new demonstrations on the day of the student, in a couple of weeks from now.
Experts believe that these demonstrations will exacerbate divisions within the Islamic Republic regime, and deepen the gap between civilians and authorities, thus driving the majority of younger generations who support the reform movement. After these demonstrations, reformers spoke about the impossibility of national reconciliation unless the regime fulfills the public requirements and form the green government. This undermines further more the authority and legitimacy of those in power, especially since Ayatollah Khamenei has deemed the questioning the electoral results a crime.
Chief Analyst for Al-Arabiya Television
