Majlis (Iranian Parliament)

Majlis (Iranian Parliament)
Name	Islamic Consultative Assembly
Native name	مجلس شورای اسلامی
Legislature	11th Islamic Consultative Assembly
House type	Unicameral
Established	1906
Leader1 type	Speaker
Leader1	Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
Party1	Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (note: former)
Members	290
Meeting place	Tehran

Majlis (Iranian Parliament) The Islamic Consultative Assembly, commonly known as the Majlis, is the unicameral legislative body of the Islamic Republic of Iran established after the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1905–1907 and reconstituted following the Iranian Revolution of 1979. It sits in Tehran and enacts laws, approves budgets and treaties, and exercises oversight vis‑à‑vis the President of Iran, Supreme Leader of Iran, Cabinet of Iran, and other state organs. The Majlis operates within the constitutional framework defined by the 1979 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran and subsequent amendments, interacting with institutions such as the Guardian Council, Assembly of Experts, Expediency Discernment Council, and Judiciary of Iran.

History

The Majlis originated in the wake of the Persian Constitutional Revolution (1905–1907), influenced by constitutional experiments in the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire, and the United Kingdom, leading to the 1906 establishment of the Persian Constitution and the first national assembly in Tehran. During the Pahlavi dynasty, the legislature's role fluctuated amid the reigns of Reza Shah Pahlavi and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, with episodes such as the 1925 coup, the 1953 Iranian coup d'état against Mohammad Mossadegh, and interactions with the Imperial State of Iran shaping parliamentary practice. After the 1979 Iranian Revolution led by figures like Ruhollah Khomeini and Ali Khamenei, the post‑revolutionary Majlis was established by the 1979 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, underwent changes during the Iran–Iraq War, and faced reformist and conservative shifts evident in the 1990s under Mohammad Khatami and the 2000s under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Major historical turning points include the 1906 legislative founding, the 1953 political crisis, the 1979 constitutional reconfiguration, and electoral realignments in the 1999, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 parliamentary elections involving parties and coalitions such as Islamic Coalition Party, Combatant Clergy Association, Association of the Followers of the Line of the Imam and the Leader, and reformist blocs.

Structure and Composition

The Majlis is unicameral with 290 deputies representing constituencies across Iran, including reserved seats for recognized minorities such as Armenians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Jews; it convenes in the Baharestan (Iran) building in Tehran. Leadership includes the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and multiple deputies and commissions; notable speakers have included Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mehdi Karroubi, Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, and Ali Larijani. The body comprises standing committees patterned after legislative practices in assemblies like the British House of Commons and influenced by consultative models from the Assembly of Experts and the Guardian Council, while parliamentary factions reflect alignments such as principlists, reformists, independents, and conservatives associated with groups like the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps–aligned networks. Deputies must meet constitutional qualifications overseen by the Guardian Council and can be disqualified or barred during vetting processes similar to those affecting candidates in presidential elections and Assembly of Experts contests.

Powers and Functions

The Majlis enacts legislation, ratifies international treaties, approves the national budget and development plans, and exercises oversight through interpellations, inquiries, and votes of confidence regarding the President of Iran and ministers. Its legislative authority operates within a system of constitutional review by the Guardian Council which can veto laws on grounds of conformity with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Islamic jurisprudence as interpreted by jurists such as members of the Council of Guardians. The Majlis also has the power to summon and impeach ministers, initiate inquiries related to the Ministry of Intelligence (Iran), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and state enterprises, and to propose amendments subject to confirmation by bodies like the Assembly of Experts and the Supreme Leader under extraordinary procedures.

Electoral System and Constituencies

Members are elected from single‑ and multi‑member constituencies by plurality or two‑round systems, with elections administered by the Ministry of Interior (Iran) and candidates vetted by the Guardian Council. Constituency boundaries reflect provinces such as Tehran Province, Isfahan Province, Fars Province, Khorasan Razavi Province, and smaller districts, with major urban centers like Mashhad, Isfahan, Shiraz, Tabriz, and Karaj allocated multiple seats. Reserved minority seats represent communities centered in regions like Isfahan, Urmia, and Tehran. Electoral cycles occur every four years, and high‑profile election years (e.g., 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) have seen contestation among coalitions linked to figures such as Mohammad Khatami, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, and Ebrahim Raisi.

Legislative Process

Legislation can be proposed by deputies, parliamentary commissions, the President of Iran, or the Guardian Council in certain advisory forms; bills pass committee scrutiny, plenary debate, and majority votes before referral to the Guardian Council for compatibility review with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Islamic criteria. Disputes between the Majlis and the Guardian Council may be resolved by the Expediency Discernment Council, chaired historically by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and later by other figures. The Majlis employs standing committees—such as the Budget, National Security and Foreign Policy, and Legal and Judicial commissions—that mirror functions seen in legislatures like the United States Congress and the European Parliament while adapting to Iran's post‑revolutionary institutional architecture.

Relationship with Other State Institutions

The Majlis interacts with the Guardian Council which vets legislation and candidates, the Assembly of Experts which supervises the Supreme Leader of Iran, the Expediency Discernment Council which mediates inter‑institutional disputes, and the Judiciary of Iran overseeing legal conformity and prosecutions. Executive oversight involves engagement with the President of Iran, the Cabinet of Iran, and ministries such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Iran), Ministry of Oil (Iran), and Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance. Security‑related matters bring the Majlis into contact with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and agencies like the Ministry of Intelligence (Iran), while foreign‑policy scrutiny intersects with organs such as the Supreme National Security Council.

Notable Sessions and Reforms

Key sessions include the first 1906 assembly, post‑1979 inaugural sessions establishing the Islamic Republic's legal framework, impeachment proceedings against ministers under presidents like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Rouhani, and legislative responses to the Iran–Iraq War and international sanctions linked to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Reforms and controversies have involved vetting practices by the Guardian Council, proposed judicial and electoral reforms debated alongside figures such as Mohammad Khatami, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, and Mehdi Karroubi, and parliamentary legislation on social and economic policy impacting institutions like the Central Bank of Iran, nationalized industries from the National Iranian Oil Company, and cultural policies related to bodies such as the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization.

Category:Politics of Iran Category:Legislatures