11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Irregularities, exclusions and interference by Basij forces during the 2005 elections ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23193]

"The fairness of the 2005 presidential election was undermined both before and during the polls. The Guardian Council initially approved the candidacies of only six of the 1,014 persons who registered and excluded all 89 female candidates as well as anyone critical of the leadership, including former cabinet ministers. During the polling, many candidates and the interior ministry complained of irregularities, including interference by Basij forces. There were no international election observers.

After the second round of voting, the supreme leader denied the allegations of Basij involvement, and the Guardian Council validated the results. Domestic press reported that 104 cases of alleged violations were under review and suspects were detained in 26 cases; however, no further action was taken. According to official statistics, Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad won the run-off race with 61 percent of the votes."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Presidental elections in June 2005: Council of Guardians approved only 6 of 1,014 candidates and excluded all female candidates as well as anyone critical of the leadership ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 20929]

"The fairness of the June 2005 presidential election was undermined both before and during the polls. The Council of Guardians initially approved the candidacies of only six of the 1,014 persons who registered and excluded all 89 female candidates as well as anyone critical of the leadership, including former cabinet ministers.

Many candidates and the Interior Ministry complained of irregularities during the polling, including interference by basiji forces. There were no international election observers. After the second round of voting, the supreme leader denied the allegations of basiji involvement, and the council validated the results on June 29, 2005. Domestic press said 104 cases of alleged violations were under review and suspects were detained in 26 cases; however, no further action was taken. According to official statistics, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the run-off race with 61 percent of the votes."

Document(s): Open document

23.05.2006 - Source: Amnesty International

Presidential Elections in June 2005: Exclusion of candidates, bomb attacks and armed opposition against the authorities ("Annual Report 2006") [ID 18809]

"The political stalemate of the previous year continued until the election of a new president in June. Over 1,000 presidential candidates were excluded from the election by the Council of Guardians, which reviews laws and policies to ensure that they uphold Islamic tenets and the Constitution. All 89 women candidates were excluded on the basis of their gender under discriminatory selection procedures known as gozinesh. There were reports of arrests of people demonstrating against the elections. Up to 10 people were killed in separate pre-election bomb attacks in Ahvaz and Tehran, and six others were killed in a bomb attack in Ahvaz in October. The authorities faced armed opposition from Kurdish and other groups. The election as President of former Revolutionary Guard Special Forces member Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who took office in August, completed the marginalization of pro-reform supporters from the political process and led to a concentration of power in the Office of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei. In October, the Supreme Leader delegated some of his supervisory powers over the government to the Expediency Council, headed by defeated presidential candidate Hojjatoleslam AliAkbar Hashemi Rafsanjani."

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Conservative candidate Ahmadinejad wins the presidential elections on 24 June 2005 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46058],  [ID 18192]

"The supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dominated a tricameral division of power among legislative, executive, and judicial branches. He is not directly elected but chosen by an elected body of religious leaders. Khamenei directly controlled the armed forces and exercised indirect control over the internal security forces, the judiciary, and other key institutions. Reformist President Mohammad Khatami headed the executive branch until August when conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office. Ahmadinejad won the presidency in June in an election widely viewed as neither free nor fair.

An unelected 12-member council of guardians reviewed all legislation passed by the majles for adherence to Islamic and constitutional principles and also screened presidential and majles candidates for eligibility. Prior to the June presidential elections, the guardian council excluded all but 8 candidates of the 1,014 who registered.

(...) In preparation for the June presidential elections, there was intense political struggle between a broad popular movement favoring greater liberalization of human rights and the economy, and hard-line elements within government and society that viewed such reforms as a threat to the Islamic Republic. Reformists and hard-liners within the government engaged in divisive internal debates."

Document(s): Open document