Leaving Human Rights Behind

On May 23, 1997, Iranians went to the polls for the seventh time to elect a president of the Islamic Republic. The incumbent, Hashemi Rafsanjani, served the two consecutive four-year terms permitted by law. The transfer of power by way of elections was a notable event in a region in which most leaders do not voluntarily leave power or subject themselves to any type of open electoral process. Nevertheless, as with last year’s elections for Iran’s parliament, the Majles or Islamic Consultative Assembly, the control exercised over the election by the ruling clerical elite severely circumscribed the choices presented to Iranian voters. The elections were made less free by the arbitrary exercise of power by the Council of Guardians, a body of six senior clerics and six jurists appointed by the leader of the Islamic Republic to supervise elections. Notably, the council kept the field of candidates within narrow limits. The Council’s actions, combined with a more general lack of respect for basic rights to expression, association and assembly make it unlikely that the election will reflect “the free expression of the will of the electors.” This report documents violations of international human rights, including the rights of freedom of assembly and of expression, as well as the right to participate in public affairs.