Presidential race in Iran

Why in news?

President elections are going to be held in Iran, on May 19 2017.

How president elections will take place in Iran?

• The Iranian presidency is not a strong institution compared to other presidential systems.
• In the Islamic Republic, real power lies with the Supreme Leader (a clergy), who is not directly elected by the people.
• The office of the President lends authority to the country’s theocratic system, and a visionary, popular leader can plan within the limitations and push his agenda gradually.

What is the Status of Economic sanctions on Iran?

• Following the Iranian Revolution of 1979 to overthrow Pahlavi dynasty who was supported by USA, the United States imposed economic sanctions against Iran and expanded them in 1995 to include firms dealing with the Iranian government.
• In 2006, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1696 and imposed sanctions after Iran refused to suspend its uranium enrichment program.
• U.S. sanctions initially targeted investments in oil, gas, and petrochemicals, exports of refined petroleum products, and business dealings with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
• This encompasses banking and insurance transactions (including with the Central Bank of Iran), shipping, web-hosting services for commercial endeavours, and domain name registration services.
• Though the UN-mandated sanctions on Iran were lifted after the nuclear deal, the non-nuclear sanctions imposed by the U.S. are still in place.

What are the issue with current president?

• The odds appear to be in favour of the incumbent Hassan Rouhani, the current president of Iran.
• He was the first president of the Islamic Republic, who had been impeached, have served two terms.
• He is particularly popular among the reformist section of the electorate, and is seeking to return to office on a clear political platform of integrating Iran further with the global order and initiating reforms at home.
• He had promised to break Iran’s isolation, resolve the nuclear crisis through diplomatic means and turn that into economic benefit for all citizens.
• He clinched the nuclear deal and oversaw greater Iranian engagement on the world stage.
• But he has yet to make good on his goal of attracting foreign direct investment and modernising the economy.
• It is partly not in his hands, International companies and banking giants still shy away from making deals with Tehran.

What is the way forward?

• The expected thaw in relations between Washington and Tehran did not take place in the wake of geopolitical tensions in West Asia. Worse, the Trump administration’s anti-Iran rhetoric is not only scaring off western investors but also playing it into the hands of the hardliners in Iran.
• It is now his chance to convince voters to give him one more term so he can continue this gradualist but substantive reform agenda.

Source: The Hindu