Majlis of Iran
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| مجلس شورای اسلامی Majles-e Shura-ye Eslami Majlis of Iran |
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| Type | |
|---|---|
| Type | Unicameral |
| Leadership | |
| Speaker | Ali Larijani, Islamic Society of Engineers since May 2008 |
| Structure | |
| Members | 290 |
| Meeting place | |
| Majlis Building, Baharestan, Tehran | |
| Web site | |
| majles.ir | |
The Majlis of Iran (Persian: مجلس شورای اسلامی, lit. Islamic Consultative Assembly), also called The Iranian Parliament, is the national legislative body of Iran. The Majlis currently has 290 representatives, changed from the previous 270 seats since the 18 February 2000 election.
The current speaker of parliament is Ali Larijani, with first deputy speaker Mohammad Reza Bahonar and second deputy speaker Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabi-Fard. The presiding board member is Mousa Qorbani.
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[edit] Pre-Revolution Majlis - National Consultative Assembly
Before the Islamic Revolution, Majlis was also the name of the lower house of the Iranian Legislature from 1906 to 1979, the upper house being the Senate.
It was created by the Iran Constitution of 1906 and first convened on 6 November 1906 (Iranian Calendar: 1285-Mehr-13,[1]), soon gaining power under the rule of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Noteworthy bills passed by the Majlis under the Pahlavi Dynasty include the Oil Nationalization Bill (15 March 1951) and the Family Protection Law (1967), which gave women many basic rights such as custody of children in case of divorce.
Women were not allowed to vote or be elected to the Majlis until 1963, as part of reforms under the Shah's "White Revolution". The reforms were regarded as dangerous, Westernizing trends by traditionalists, especially by the powerful Shia religious leaders, including Ayatollah Khomeini. The events led to a revolt on 5 June 1963 and the exile of Khomeini to Iraq. The twenty-first National Consultative Assembly, which included female representatives, opened on 6 October 1963.
The last session of the Pre-Revolution Majlis was held on 7 February 1979 (18 Bahman 1357 AP[1]).
[edit] Islamic Republic - Islamic Consultative Assembly
After the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the Senate was abolished and the Iranian legislature thus became unicameral. In the 1989 revision of the constitution, the National Consultative Assembly became the Islamic Consultative Assembly.
Currently, the Majlis' 290 members, five of whom represent non-Muslim religious minorities, are popularly elected for four-year terms. The Majlis can force the dismissal of cabinet ministers by no-confidence votes and can impeach the president for misconduct in office. Although the executive proposes most new laws, individual deputies of the Majlis also may introduce legislation. Deputies also may propose amendments to bills being debated. The Majlis also drafts legislation, ratifies international treaties, and approves the national budget.
All Majlis candidates and all legislation from the assembly must be approved by the Guardian Council. Candidates must pledge in writing that they are committed, in theory and in practice, to the Iranian constitution.
The Iranian dissident, Akbar Ganji has criticized the electoral process of Majlis for what he calls "rigged pseudoelections," where thousands of candidates are disqualified from running for office and dozens of seats are "earmarked in advance for specific conservative candidates".[2] Others have praised as more democratic in nature than the Shah's majlis or other governments in the region.[citation needed]
From 1979, the Majlis had convened at the building that used to house the Iranian Senate. A new building was built for the Assembly at Baharestan Square in central Tehran, near the old Majlis building that was used from 1906 to 1979. After several debates, the move was finally approved in 2004. The first session of the Majlis was held on 16 November 2004 in the new building.
The old building is depicted on the reverse of the Iranian 100 rials banknote.[3]
Over its history the Majlis is said to have evolved from being "a debating chamber for notables," to "a club for the shah's placemen" during the Pahlavi era, to a body dominated by members of "the propertied middle class" under the Islamic Republic.[4][5]
- Iranian legislative election, 2008
- Iranian legislative election, 2004
- Iranian parliamentary elections, 2000
- Iranian legislative election, 1996
| Orientiation of candidates | Seats (1st rd.) | Seats (2nd rd.) | Seats (Total) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unified Principalists Front | 90 | 27 | 117 |
| Broad Principalists Coalition | 42 | 11 | 53 |
| Reformists | 31 | 15 | 46 |
| Independents | 40 | 29 | 69 |
| Armenians recognized minority religion | 2 | 2 | |
| Assyrian and Chaldean (Catholic) recognized minority religion | 1 | 1 | |
| Jewish recognized minority religion | 1 | 1 | |
| Zoroastrian recognized minority religion | 1 | 1 | |
| Total (Turnout: 60%) | 208 | 82 | 290 |
| Source: IPU | |||
[edit] See also
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[edit] Notes and references
- ^ a b Mohammad Modarresi (2005). "An Introduction to the history of the Legislative Assembly In Iran: The First Parliament of the National Consultative Assembly (آشنایی با تاریخ مجالس قانونگذاری در ایران: دوره اول مجلس شورای ملی)" (in Persian) (PDF). The Research Center of Islamic Consultative Assembly (مرکز پژوهشهای مجلس شورای اسلامی). http://www.majlis.ir/pdf/final1.pdf.
- ^ "The Latter-Day Sultan Power and Politics in Iran" by Akbar Ganji, Foreign Affairs, November/December 2008
- ^ Central Bank of Iran. Banknotes & Coins: 100 Rials. – Retrieved on 24 March 2009.
- ^ Abrahamian, History of Modern Iran, (2008), p.179
- ^ Islamic Majles, Ashnai-ye Ba Majles-e Showra-ye Islami, Vol.ii (Guide to the Islamic Majles, Tehran, 1992, p.205
[edit] External links
- The official website of the Majlis of Iran
- History of Iran: Constitutional Revolution, a history of Majlis from 1906 to 1953
- Iranian Ministry of Interior on the history of elections in Iran
- A report on moving the Majles to Baharestan
- The Council of Guardians, Official website.
- The Majles, Iran's parliament news service.
- Video Archive of Iran's Parliament
- Kourosh Esmāili, People & Power: The Iranian Campaign, Aljazeera, YouTube, 23 April 2008: (Part 1) (11 min 25 sec), (Part 2) (11 min 54 sec).
- Interparliamentary Union (IPU) summary of Majlis of Iran election preparations and/or outcomes (translated into English)
