Islamic Republic of Iran
The Islamic Republic of Iran is the second most populated state in the Middle East after Egypt. The majority of the population of Iran follows the branch of Shia Islam. Notable minorities are Sunni Muslims, Zoroastrians, Baha'is, and Jews. The demographic structure of Iran depicts a relatively young population. Similar to most other Middle Eastern countries, the Islamic Republic of Iran is experiencing a high unemployment rate. The high inflation rate and economic instability are important political issues, especially for the 2021 presidential elections. The constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran stipulates that the presidential term shall end after four years, resulting in new elections. The regular electoral terms of the Iranian president have been put in place since the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
Presidential election process
The Guardian Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran oversees the process of application and approval of presidential candidates. According to article 115 of the Iranian constitution, the candidate must have “religious and political personalities” and he has to fulfill the following requirement: be of Iranian origin and in possession of the Iranian nationality. The candidate shall be of administrative capacity and resourcefulness, and above 21 years old. Furthermore, the constitution requires the candidate to have a good record and be trustworthy and have piety. The main qualifying factor for running as a presidential candidate is a convincing belief in the fundamental principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the religion of Islam.
After vetting all presidential hopefuls, the Guardian Council publishes an official candidate list. The economic state of the country is one of the leading election topics, as Iran was one of first the countries impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
In recent decades, Iran experienced a steady increase in population, which is reflected by its electoral roll. The voter turnout for the presidential elections has been historically stable and high. According to the law, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran is elected through an absolute majority. This means, that the winner needs to receive at least 50.1 percent of the votes. If none of the candidates receives more than half of the votes, the two candidates who scored the most votes will go into a run-off voting.
