“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.”
- James Madison, Federalist #51
A system of separation of powers, or checks and balances, must exist to oblige the government to regulate itself. While Iran’s tripartite system provides the theoretical basis for checks and balances, since the Supreme Leader essentially controls the executive, legislature, and judiciary, he is the ultimate and sole source of authority and political power in Iran, thus ensuring an unchecked dictatorship. Take the appointment and removal of the Supreme Leader for instance.
Article 109 of Iran’s constitution sets out “essential qualifications” for the Supreme Leader. The “Leader” must be a scholar so that he is able to perform the functions of mufti in different fields of fiqh, he must possess justice and piety, as well as right political and social perspicacity, prudence, courage, administrative facilities and adequate capability for leadership. Without getting into a Platonic discussion of what “justice” or “prudence” mean, I think it is reasonable to argue that the rampant corruption in the Islamic Republic, not to mention the officially sanctioned rapes and murders by its agents, illustrate a lack of leadership qualities mentioned in the Constitution.
The constitution also mentions that whenever the Leader becomes incapable of fulfilling his constitutional duties, or lobs one of the qualifications mentioned in Article 109, or it becomes known that he did not possess some of the qualifications initially, he will be dismissed by the Assembly of Experts. Thus, it should not take more than a moment of deliberation to conclude that Khamenei is utterly incapable of fulfilling his duties, and should be removed. As ridiculous as it is to look into why he has not been removed (since we already know the answer), I think exploring this issue may shed some light on the inadequacy of the current Iranian political system and Constitution.
Under Iran’s constitution, the Supreme Leader, who is appointed by the Assembly of Experts, is at the top of Iran’s power structure. While it may appear that the Assembly of Experts adds democratic elements to the system since the people elect its 86 members for eight-year terms, in truth, the Guardian Council thoroughly vets every candidate. Should candidates not be sufficiently “Islamic,” they are not permitted to run for the Assembly. More interesting is the fact that the Guardian Council, the most influential body in Iran, consists of six members who are appointed by the Supreme Leader and six members who are nominated by the judiciary and approved by the parliament. Those who are unfamiliar with the ridiculous power structure in Iran may be thinking “hey, it’s not so bad since half the members of the Guardian Council are appointed by the judiciary.” The Supreme Leader, however, also appoints the head of the judiciary, thus ensuring a loyal and partisan ally. Accordingly, while an elected body supposedly appoints the Supreme Leader, it is in fact the Supreme Leader who selects the Assembly of Experts, thus ensuring no checks or balances on the highest office in Iran other than “divine” self-restraint.
It is evident, then, that while the Islamic Republic has some weird adaptation of separation of powers, the problems facing the political system of Iran find their roots deeper than the mere lack of proper checks and balances. To me, the entire system and constitution of the Islamic Republic are deeply flawed. I am, however, a single voice in a cacophony of opinions on how facilitate the transition of Iran towards a more democratic society. Given the regime’s willingness to beat, rape, and murder those who oppose it, at the moment it appears that the larger segment of the Iranian populace has been forced to pursue incremental changes within the current political framework. Accordingly, it is up to the people and the political elite to oblige the government to control itself. Despite the vast problems of the current political structure, if Iran possessed an autonomous Assembly of Experts, such a body could reign in Khamenei and the many institutions under his control. This gradual limitation of his power would pave this way for a gradual transition to democracy, which has been the cause of Iranians for more than a hundred years.