Hashemi Rafsanjani’s “Talent” for Choosing the Leader

In a surprise move, the Assembly of Experts elected Mohammad Yazdi as its new chairman. But, asks Mehrangiz Kar, what does this really mean for Hashemi Rafsanjani’s power and influence? 

Twenty-five years ago, former president Hashemi Rafsanjani had an unrivaled “talent” for discovering who should be the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. But on Tuesday, March 10, this talent was ignored. The Assembly of Experts voted against Rafsanjani. Although the chairman does not decide the next leader by himself, it cannot be denied that whoever holds that title carries influence and power. In other words, those who influence the assembly — whether visible or hidden — are more able to present their views if the chairman is on their side.

Until a few years ago Hashemi Rafsanjani was popular with figures who influence key elections. But problems ensued when he began to regularly emphasize the importance of Chapter 3 of the constitution, which refers to “the rights of the people”. He was worried about the survival of the Islamic Republic, but at the same time, he stood by his “discovery” the Supreme Leader in order to prevent the dissolution of a system that came into existence and has endured many crises with his help and talent as a decision-maker.

Rafsanjani first fell out of favor during the May 1997 presidential election. He was ultimately responsible for supervising inspectors charged with ensuring the integrity of the election in polling centers across the country. At that point, it was well known that he supported the reformist candidate Mohammad Khatami, though Khatami’s closest allies were not thankful for this support. He is also known for his attempts to improve relations with the United States — an effort that has made him popular within the U.S. establishment and government. But these political pluses do not cover up the common belief that Rafsanjani has been involved in many of the Islamic Republic’s most serious crimes, including assassinations inside and outside the country, as well as the fact that he has been silent in the face of injustices.

Under the Islamic Republic, and surrounded by problems and crises, the collective Iranian conscience has lost its sensitivity to these issues, at least publicly. If people were given a choice they would have preferred Rafsanjani over Mohammad Yazdi, the new chairman of the Assembly of Experts. This assembly, however, does not belong to the people. It is under the total control of the Supreme Leader and has no place for the collective conscience.

The assembly is the uncontested domain of the Leader’s servants, so much so that if the Leader were to die —barring a breakdown in order — its choice of the new leader would amount to nothing more than executing the last will and testament of the departed leader, interpreted according to the needs and demands of the political and military forces that shaped the leader’s testament in the first place.

So the “electoral” role of the Assembly of Experts, the role of the people in electing its members, and the illusion that the assembly supervises the Supreme Leader are meaningless. They work as a cover to hide the fact that people have no role in selecting the leader, in exactly the same way that they would have no role in selecting a hereditary ruler.

The body that changes elections to appointments is the Guardian Council of the Constitution. It is embedded in the constitution of the Islamic Republic, and, again, the way it is structured and operates makes it clear that ordinary people have no decisive role in important and sensitive issues. The only people or institutions that do have this power are the country’s elite, and those close to the office of the Supreme Leader — and no one else.

Codifying A Vicious Circle

The Guardian Council has 12 members. Six are clerics, experts in Islamic law directly appointed by the Supreme Leader. The other six are jurists nominated by the head of the judiciary, himself an appointee of the Supreme Leader, who must be approved by parliament. Candidates for parliament and the Assembly of Experts must be approved by the Guardian Council, meaning that they must be selected before they can be elected. With such a setup, it takes a great sense of humor to say that people elect members of the Assembly of Experts, who in turn elect the supreme leader.

Based on requirements in the constitution, sometimes a city can find itself with only one qualified candidate for the Assembly of Experts. Even if the right of the people to choose was to be taken seriously, they would be limited to one or two candidates. And let us not forget that those candidates must be vetted and approved by the appointed Guardian Council.

So those who framed the constitution have codified a vicious circle into the law of the land and one of its most important institutions. The Supreme Leader appoints members of the Guardian Council, and then these members, who are beholden to the Leader, allow people into the Assembly of Experts — who choose the next leader.

If this is not a vicious circle, then what is it? Perhaps one of Hashemi Rafsanjani’s sins in recent years has been his advocacy of having a Leadership Council instead of a single Supreme Leader, or his promotion of a Fatwa Council, which would weaken the personal power of the leader. Rafsanjani, Khatami and Rouhani are the three sides of a hated triangle, which would have been impossible to stop if the political atmosphere opened up a little.

Nevertheless, the chairmanship of Mohammad Yazdi, the former Chief Justice who damaged the judicial system, is to last 10 months. Barring unforeseen events, in these 10 months, Iranian politics might change, and the members of the Assembly of Experts might be singing another tune.

An unexpected defeat and the bitter experience of receiving so few votes are not going to drive Hashemi Rafsanjani from the political arena. He stated that he can have an effective role without being the chairman of the assembly. He is confident that the Supreme Leader will die while he is alive. He gave us the good news, that he will be involved in “discovering” the next Supreme Leader. Considering his track record in this area, I do not know whether we should laugh or cry.