The Guardian Council Expands Power: Election Monitoring Boards
February 18, 2020
Role of Military and Security Organizations on Election Monitoring Boards
February 24, 2020
In this post, Arseh Sevom looks at the funding for Election Monitoring Boards. Our research shows that the highest budget was allocated the year of the most contentious presidential election (2009).
Budget and Expenditures of the Monitoring Boards
Until 2002, the Guardian Council received funding through the parliament’s budget. 2002 was the year that the Guardian Council requested its own budget. When the parliament refused to approve separate funding for the Guardian Council, the request was sent to the Expediency Discernment Council, which did accept it.[1]
In the table below, the details of the budget for election monitoring are specified. The amounts provided are for years when budget details were published. Since 2002, we note that the budget for the Guardian Council is primarily for election monitoring, which includes the surveillance of potential candidates, activists, and others.
The Budget of the Election Monitoring Boards
| Type of Elections | Election Year | Budget in Rials | Exchange Rate: Rials to US Dollar | The Budget Rates in US Dollars |
| Third Parliament | 1989 | 10,000,000 | 1,200 | $8,333 |
| Second Assembly of Experts | 1990 | 50,000,000 | 1,410 | $35,460 |
| Fourth Parliament | 1991 | 350,000,000 | 1,420 | $246,479 |
| Sixth Presidential | 1993 | 100,000,000 | 1,800 | $55,555 |
| Fifth Parliament | 1995 | 700,000,000 | 4,030 | $173,697 |
| Seventh Presidential | 1997 | 700,000,000 | 4,780 | $146,443 |
| Third Assembly of Experts | 1998 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Sixth Parliament | 1999 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Eighth Presidential | 2001 | N/A | ||
| Seventh Parliament | 2003 | 10,000,000,000 | 8,320 | $1,201,923 |
| Ninth Presidential | 2005 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Fourth Assembly of Experts | 2007 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Eighth Parliament | 2008 | 171,126,000,000 | 9,660 | $17,714,906 |
| Tenth Presidential | 2009 | 261,635,000,000 | 10,000 | $26,163,500 |
| Ninth Parliament | 2011 | 239,037,000,000 | 18,000 | $13,279,833 |
| Eleventh Presidential | 2013 | 301,757,000,000 | 36,000 | $8,382,139 |
| Tenth Parliament | 2015 | 580,425,000,000 | 36,000 | $16,122,916 |
| Fifth Assembly of Experts | 2016 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Twelfth Presidential | 2017 | 752,860,000,000 | 4,250 | $17,714,352 |
| Eleventh Parliament | 2020 | 750,000,000,000 | 151,500 | $4,959,495 |
As we can see from the budget details, the most contested election in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran was also the most expensive one. In 2009, when millions of people in Iran protested the results of the election[2], over 26 million US dollars was spent on election monitoring. Corruption, it seems, is quite expensive.
There was no hint of impartiality or due process the article 99 of the constitution of the IRI demands of the Guardian Council and, by extension, the Election Monitoring Boards. Instead, favoritism and unfair advantages are the norm. In a 2018 letter to Guardian Council Chair Ayatollah Jannati, Member of Parliament Mahmoud Sadeghi pointed out the lack of neutrality of the council, giving examples of clerics campaigning for candidates.
“When the law mandates impartiality from election observers, it is obvious that respected members of the Guardian Council are also obliged to observe impartiality and to avoid supporting or opposing candidates.”[3]
Read the complete report: The Guardian Council Expands Power (pdf)
[2] Ali Ansari, Editor. Berman, Daniel and Thomas Rintoul, Contributors. “Preliminary Analysis of the Voting Figures in Iran’s 2009 Presidential Election.” Chatham House, June 21, 2009. https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/Research/Middle East/iranelection0609.pdf.
[3] “وقتی قانون ناظران انتخابات را موظف به بی‌طرفی کرده، بدیهی است که اعضای محترم شورای نگهبان نیز به طریق اولی موظف به رعایت بی‌طرفی و خودداری از اعلام موضع له یا علیه نامزدها هستند. مع الاسف ملاحظه می‌شود بعضی از اعضای محترم شورای نگهبان در این دوره از انتخابات همانند بعضی از ادوار گذشته اهتمام لازم به مراقبت از بی‌طرفی خود در انتخابات ندارند؛ بعضی از فقهای محترم شورا شخصاً در مراسم تبلیغاتی جناب آقای رئیسی حضور می‌یابند و بعضی دیگر به‌عنوان عضو جامعه مدرسین حوزه علمیه قم از وی اعلام حمایت کرده‌اند. روشی که در انتخابات دهمین دوره ریاست جمهوری نیز انجام و موجب غبارآلودشدن فضا شد.”
https://www.ilna.news/fa/tiny/news-489657
[4] The Basij is a paramilitary organization under the wing of the IRGC.
[5] کوروشی, جواد “نقش سپاه و بسیج در انتخابات؛ بزرگ‌نمایی یا واقعیت؟.” رادیو فردا. رادیو فردا, June 9, 2009. https://www.radiofarda.com/a/f10_Basij_RevolutionaryGuard_Election/1749432.html.
