Date: Presidential elections must take place at least one month before the end of the current president’s term on a date approved by the Guardian Council of the Constitution. The Guardian Council consists of six senior clerics appointed by the Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and six jurists appointed by the judiciary. Elections are scheduled for June 12, 2009.
Voting System: The president is directly elected by popular vote and must win an absolute majority in the first round of voting. If no majority is achieved, a run-off must occur between the two candidates who received the most votes. In a run-off election, tentatively scheduled for June 19, the winning candidate needs to win a relative majority.
Candidate Registration: While candidates may announce their candidacy at any time, they have five days, beginning May 5, to register with the Ministry of Interior.
Candidate Review Process: The Guardian Council must approve all candidates. Article 115 of the Iranian Constitution stipulates that, “The President must be elected from among religious and political personalities possessing the following qualifications: Iranian origin; Iranian nationality; administrative capacity and resourcefulness; a good past- record; trustworthiness and piety; convinced belief in the fundamental principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the official madhhab of the country.” The Guardian Council has seven to ten days after registration, and no later than eight days before the election, to approve or reject candidates. Aspirants cannot appeal the council’s decisions.
Campaigning: Campaign activities last for one to two weeks after the official candidate list is announced. Campaigning must end 24 hours before the election.
Term: Terms are four years in length and candidates cannot hold more than two terms consecutively. This is the tenth round of presidential elections since 1979.
Suffrage: In 2007, the voting age was raised from 15 to 18.
2005 Presidential Elections
Outcome: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former mayor of Tehran, won the June 24 run-off elections.
Candidates: The Guardian Council approved 6 of 1,014 candidates. On Supreme Leader Khamenei’s request, they allowed two additional reformist candidates to participate. One of the eight candidates dropped out before the election.
First Round: Voter turn out was 63 percent. Former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani won 21 percent and Ahmadinejad won 19.5 percent.
Second Round: Voter turn out was 47 percent. Ahmadinejad won 61.8 percent and Rafsanjani won 35.7 percent.
Sources: Congressional Research Service, the National Democratic Institute, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and news organizations.
