An Iranian parliament is newly convened.
Iran's newly elected parliament held its inaugural meeting on Monday. The parliamentarians initiated the 12th legislative term with a Quranic recitation, as reported by state-controlled media. In the impending days, the election of the influential role of the parliament speaker is set to occur.
Thus far, the current parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the hardline religious figure Mojtaba Soltani, and Iran's former foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, have made known their desires for the position.
This year's parliamentary elections saw fundamentalists sweeping to victory once again. The election was marred by the exclusion of moderate candidates and a historically low voter turnout. In Iran, the Guardian Council - a body comprised of Islamic clerics and jurists - is responsible for determining the ideological suitability of politicians. Consequently, individuals typically have a limited number of loyalists to choose from when casting their votes.
The parliament is Iran's legislative body; however, the true authority lies with the leadership, spearheaded by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The president is elected by the population every four years to serve as the head of government and appoints the ministers. The National Security Council also possesses extensive powers. In recent decades, Iran's elite military force, the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), has grown its influence and evolved into a business empire.
Numerous Iranians express disillusionment with political repression, an ongoing economic crisis, and thwarted reform initiatives spanning several decades. In the autumn of 2022, protests flared up nationwide following the demise of the young Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini at the hands of the Islamic government. Turnout for this year's parliamentary vote plummeted to a record low of roughly 40%. In Tehran, it barely exceeded 9%.
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After the new Parliament was convened in Iran, the controversy surrounding the position of the parliament speaker intensified. Mojtaba Soltani, a hardline religious figure, expressed his interest in this influential role, following the footsteps of Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Iran's former foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki. Despite the Parliament's significance as Iran's legislative body, recent events, such as the nationwide protests that unfolded after the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, have shed light on the public's disillusionment with the political repression and economic crisis in the country.
Source: www.ntv.de
