1998 Iranian Assembly of Experts election
The third Iranian Assembly of Experts election was held on October 23, 1998 to elect all 86 members in 28 constituencies. 17,857,869 citizens voted in the elections, marking a 46.3% turnout.[1]
 | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
86 Seats in Assembly of Experts 56 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered | 38,570,597 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 46.30% | ||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
 Composition of the Assembly following the election. Members endorsed by both electoral lists are shown in dark gray. | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
Coming a year after reformist Mohammad Khatami's 1997 presidential victory, there had been speculation that reform-minded individuals would do well in the 1998 race. However, the Guardian Council changed the rules. Previously, candidates had to demonstrate ijtihad, but in 1998 all potential candidates were also required to demonstrate a "proper political inclination".[2]
Out of 396 individuals registered to run, 167 (36.86%) were qualified by the council.[1] 214 were disqualified, 13 withdrew and 60 of 187 invitees did not participate in ijtihad test.[3]
The two leading clerical bodies of reformists, Association of Combatant Clerics and Assembly of Qom Seminary Scholars and Researchers did not issue any electoral list, protesting disqualification of their candidates by the Guardian Council. Other reformist groups did the same, including Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution of Iran Organization. The only 2nd of Khordad-affiliated group that endorsed candidates was Executives of Construction Party.[3]
Results
editAccording to Fars News Agency, the results were as follows:[3]
| Electoral list | Seats Won | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Exclusive | Shared | Total | |
| Combatant Clergy Association | 49 | 20 | 69 / 86 (80%)
|
| Executives of Construction Party | 12 | 20 | 32 / 86 (37%)
|
| Independents | — | 5 / 86 (6%)
| |
According to Ali Afshari, the composition of assembly was:[4]
| Faction | Seats |
|---|---|
| 'Traditional right-wingers' | 65% |
| 'Imam's Line' | 19% |
| Independents | 8% |
| 'Rafsanjani allies' | 5% |
| Radical-right and Fundamentalists | 3% |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "1998 Assembly of Experts Election", The Iran Social Science Data Portal, Princeton University, archived from the original on 8 January 2013, retrieved 10 August 2015
- ^ "Assembly of Experts". Global Security Institute. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ a b c "جریان شناسی ادوار انتخابات مجلس خبرگان" (in Persian). Fars News Agency. 13 January 2016. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ Afshari, Ali (21 December 2006). "تحليلي از نتايج انتخابات خبرگان" (in Persian). Rooz Online. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-03-17.