By Taher Shir Mohammadi – Deutsche Welle Persian – January 16, 2012
In the past 8 parliamentary terms, not a single law regarding the linguistic and cultural rights of ethnic groups has been passed. The constitutional principles related to ethnic groups have also not been implemented over the past 32 years. How will the ethnic groups participate in the upcoming elections?
In the lead-up to the parliamentary elections, issues related to the rights of ethnic groups have become one of the most important topics in the election campaigns of rival candidates in ethnic regions of the country.
On the one hand, some former representatives from ethnic groups who have served in past parliamentary terms confirmed in interviews with Deutsche Welle that their efforts to implement Articles 15 and 19 of the Constitution, related to the cultural and linguistic rights of ethnic groups, have yet to bear fruit. They emphasize that they have no hope of resolving the issues of ethnic groups in the 9th parliamentary term either.
"Loyalty to the Progressive Principle of Velayat-e-Faqih"
Article 28 of the third section of the law on parliamentary elections outlines the conditions for candidates, requiring them to "declare loyalty to the Constitution and the progressive principle of Velayat-e-Faqih."
This principle is in conflict with the religious beliefs of representatives from regions where Sunni ethnic minorities live. Despite this, Sunni representatives in various parliamentary terms have pledged to abide by this principle.
Although ethnic and religious minorities opposed this clause of the electoral law, it has not been a major obstacle to their participation in parliamentary elections. Both the Guardian Council has not used this "leverage" and the candidates themselves have regarded it as a "formality." Experts, however, have warned that implementing this clause could escalate "Shia-Sunni divisions" in the country.
Letter from Sunni Faction Representatives to the Leader
In areas where ethnic minorities reside, voter participation in the parliamentary elections and the "Islamic Councils of Cities and Villages" has generally been higher than in presidential elections. Voters in these regions have shown greater interest in participating in parliamentary elections due to the presence of candidates from their ethnic groups.
In Iran’s presidential elections, Sunni citizens, according to the Constitution, are not allowed to run for the presidency. Parliamentary representatives have tried to amend or eliminate this discriminatory law.
The last attempt was by the "Sunni Faction in Parliament," which, on December 25, 2011, sent a letter to the Supreme Leader requesting an amendment to Article 115 of the Constitution. The representatives emphasized in their letter that "according to Article 115 of the Constitution, religious and political figures from Sunni backgrounds are deprived of the right to run for the presidency."
Disappointment in Resolving Ethnic Issues in Parliament
Dr. Zia Sadr al-Ashrafi, a researcher and member of the "Congress of Iranian Federal Ethnicities," which includes over 17 organizations representing ethnic groups in the country, explains the expectations of ethnic groups from Parliament: "Iran is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country. From this perspective, its political structure should align with its social structure. It should not represent a minority and suppress a majority that feels marginalized, creating the root of separatism in the hearts of its people."
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| Dr. Zia Sadr al-Ashrafi has no hope of resolving the ethnic issues in Parliament. |
Mr. Sadr concludes after reviewing the past parliamentary terms that not a single law has been passed to defend the cultural and linguistic rights of ethnic groups, and despite the acknowledgment of some of these rights in the Constitution, no steps have been taken to implement them.
This researcher criticizes the behavior of ethnic group representatives in Parliament, questioning why they have not taken effective action to implement the legal rights of these ethnicities as outlined in the Constitution. He also mentions representatives like Akbar Alami from Tabriz, Azerbaijan who has strongly defended "the right to education in the mother tongue" in the Parliament.
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| Akbar Alami, a member of the Iranian Parliament from Tabriz, Azerbaijan during the sixth term, defended the rights of ethnic minorities. |
Mr. Sadr believes that the Iranian Parliament is part of a system that does not accept ethnic equality, and he argues that the 9th parliamentary elections will not be free or fair. He tells Deutsche Welle, "There is no hope of resolving ethnic issues in the Islamic Republic of Iran's Parliament, and it should be boycotted."
Failure to Implement the "Kurdish Faction Representatives' Request"
Some former parliamentarians and intellectuals from ethnic groups within the country offer a different opinion and reject these criticisms.
Dr. Jalal Jalali-Zadeh, who represented Sanandaj in the 6th Parliament, explains in an interview with the "Jomaran News and Information Website" about his efforts to implement the constitutional principles related to ethnic groups in the 6th Parliament: "Implementing Article 15 of the Constitution was one of the most important activities of the 'Kurdish Faction Representatives' in the 6th Parliament. We raised questions to ministers, issued warnings, and took some steps. In other words, conditions in the 6th Parliament were favorable for it."
Mr. Jalali-Zadeh also tells Jomaran that, with the rise of Ahmadinejad, such efforts were obstructed.
"100% Participation of Ethnic Groups"
The 9th parliamentary elections were held on March 2, 2012. There is no precise or independent data on the participation of ethnic groups in previous parliamentary terms, but some ethnic group news outlets reported that "the turnout of candidates compared to previous terms has decreased."
Contrary to this report, official and state-run media claim a 100% participation rate of ethnic groups in the elections. For example, the Fars News Agency, quoting Jafar Gerzin, the governor of Gorgan, writes: "In terms of ethnic representation, in the 8th Parliament, 53 Fars, 3 Sistani, and 3 Turkmen candidates had registered, which, compared to the 9th Parliament, has shown a 100% increase, with 6 Sistani, 6 Turkmen, and 26 Fars candidates registered for candidacy."
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| In some terms of the Iranian Parliament, the Turkmen people did not have a single representative. |
Fars also quotes Gerzin saying, "This time, reformists have shown less enthusiasm compared to the last term."
Outlook for the Elections
Ethnic issues experts in Iran predict that voter participation in ethnic areas for the parliamentary elections will not be as high. Some of the reasons they cite are a decrease in voters’ hopes for change in their fate in ethnic regions. Furthermore, it is said that due to the decrease in candidate registration, voters’ interest in participating in the elections in ethnic regions will similarly decline.
Editor: Shirin Jazayeri
The link to the original article in Farsi on Deutsche Welle Persian:
انتخابات مجلس شورای اسلامی و قومیتها