Press TV's exclusive peek into Iran's law watchdog, Guardian Council
Yusef Jalali
Press TV, Tehran
The Islamic Republic as a political system has been in place for over 40 years. Officials say they owe its survival to public support.
However, there's a powerful body within the fabric of the Islamic Republic that plays an important role in protecting the political system ideologically and constitutionally. It's called the Guardian Council.
The council is empowered to veto legislation and oversee any election in Iran. Comprised of six theologians and six jurists, the Guardian Council reviews any law passed by parliament to determine its constitutionality.
The council also vets candidates in any election, even for the presidential vote. During its forty years of activity, the Guardian Council says it has faced many challenges. Some of them are external, but most of them are domestic.
While the Council says it does not engage itself in the political disputes between different running parties, losers of any election point the finger of blame at the Guardian Council. The most recent one concerns the 11th parliamentary election, where many reformists were disqualified by the council.
Part of the pressure comes from outside Iran. A few days ahead of the 11th legislative vote, the US announced that it had imposed sanctions on five members of the Guardian Council. This came as a shock to the Council.
The Guardian Council now is gearing up for the upcoming presidential vote in 2021. It says no matter what the challenges are, it will do its ultimate responsibility; and that is, to make sure that the president respects and binds to Iran's constitution.
Having the final say in some of the major decision making processes, the Guardian Council has played a key role in the survival of the Islamic Republic. It says far from any political affiliation, it will keep this role by closely tracking and preventing any deviation from the principles of the Islamic establishment.
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