Iran’s political landscape vibrant, democratic: Scholar
Press TV has conducted an interview with Waheed Azal, an independent scholar and political commentator in Berlin, to discuss Iran’s upcoming Parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections, which will be held simultaneously on Friday.
What follows is a rough transcription of the interview.
Press TV: How do you see these elections and their importance?
Azal: They are monumentally important. Remember these are the first post-sanctions and post-nuclear standoff elections we’ve had for over a decade now. It is a different political trend and a different world for Iran. Nevertheless, this is a challenge now because the next parliament, the 10th Majlis, has to tackle crucial issues such as the recessionary cycle and inflation.
Press TV: You know many are looking from outside are surprised that how vibrant Iranian democracy really is; how diverse the range of opinions really is within this country. How do you feel about the importance of having those diverse opinions all heard?
Azal: This is the legacy of the Islamic Revolution of Iran; I mean it has always been that way you know from the very beginning. I mean people who study the political composition of Iran, especially the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, realize very quickly that there are many different tiers of checks and balances and power under the Islamic Republic of Iran, even more so than what usually seen in the Western model, the model they have in the United States. For example, in Iran there is a four-tiered level, [namely] there is the Majlis; there is the Expediency Council, the Guardian Council and the Assembly of Experts. These are all constitutional bodies that supervise each other and make the political landscape extremely vibrant and very democratic.
Press TV: How unique does this make the Islamic Republic within this region especially because you know where in a region of US-backed dictatorships essentially?
Azal: The Islamic Revolution in the Islamic Republic of Iran is probably the most uniquely democratic experiments in the Muslim world in the modern period. And of course you know the propaganda from the West usually does not highlight these things, but like I said anybody who actually studies the Islamic Constitution of Iran and the last 37 years will realize very quickly that they are dealing with a much different reality than what the propaganda is telling them.
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