The President of Iran is the highest official elected by direct, popular vote, although the President carries out the decrees, and answers to the Supreme Leader of Iran, who functions as the country's head of state.[1] [2] Chapter IX of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran sets forth the qualifications for presidential candidates. Powers of the presidency include signing treaties and other agreements with foreign countries and international organizations, with Supreme Leader's approval; administering national planning, budget, and state employment affairs, as decreed by the Supreme Leader.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] The President also appoints the ministers, subject to the approval of Parliament.[11]
Candidates have to be vetted by the Guardian Council, a twelve-member body consisting of six clerics (selected by Iran's Supreme Leader), and six lawyers (proposed by the head of Iran's judicial system and voted in by the Parliament).[12]
The Guardian Council interprets the term supervision in Article 99 as "approbation supervision" (Persian: نظارت استصوابی)[13] which implies the right for acceptance or rejection of elections legality and candidates competency. This interpretation is in contrast with the idea of "notification supervision" (Persian: نظارت استطلاعی) which does not imply the mentioned approval right.[14] The "evidentiary supervision" (Persian: نظارت استنادی), which requires evidences for acceptance or rejection of elections legality and candidates competency, is another interpretation of mentioned article.[15] [16]
| Elections | Date | Eligible voters | Number of votes | Voter Turnout Percentage | Number of candidates | Winner | Number of Votes for Winner | Percentage of Vote | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st election | January 25, 1980 | 20,993,643 | 14,152,907 | 67.41 | 124 | Abolhassan Banisadr | 10,709,330 | 75.6 | |
| 2nd election | July 24, 1981 | 22,687,017 | 14,572,493 | 64.24 | 4 | Mohammad-Ali Rajai | 12,960,619 | 91.0 | |
| 3rd election | October 2, 1981 | 22,687,017 | 16,847,715 | 74.26 | 4 | Ali Khamenei | 16,007,072 | 97.01 | |
| 4th election | August 16, 1985 | 25,993,802 | 14,238,587 | 54.78 | 3 | Ali Khamenei | 12,203,870 | 87.09 | |
| 5th election | July 28, 1989 | 30,139,598 | 16,452,562 | 54.59 | 2 | Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani | 15,537,394 | 96.01 | |
| 6th election | June 11, 1993 | 33,156,055 | 16,796,755 | 50.66 | 4 | Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani | 10,449,933 | 64.0 | |
| 7th election | May 23, 1997 | 36,466,487 | 29,145,745 | 79.92 | 4 | Mohammad Khatami | 20,078,187 | 69.06 | |
| 8th election | June 8, 2001 | 42,170,230 | 28,155,969 | 66.77 | 10 | Mohammad Khatami | 21,659,053 | 77.01 | |
| 9th election | June 17, 2005 | 46,786,418 | 27,958,931 | 59.76 | 2 | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad | 17,284,782 | 61.69 | |
| 10th election | June 12, 2009 | 46,199,997 | 39,371,214 | 84.83 | 4 | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad | 24,592,793 | 62.63 | |
| 11th election | June 14, 2013 | 50,483,192 | 36,821,538 | 72.94 | 6 | Hassan Rouhani | 18,692,500 | 50.71 | |
| 12th election | May 19, 2017 | 56,410,234 | 41,366,085 | 73.33 | 4 | Hassan Rouhani | 23,636,652 | 57.14 | |
| 13th election | June 18, 2021 | 59,310,307 | 28,933,004 | 48.8 | 4 | Ebrahim Raisi | 17,926,345 | 61.9 | |
| 14th election | June 28, 2024 "runoff" | 61,452,321 | 24,535,185 | 39.96 | 4 | Masoud Pezeshkian & Saeed Jalili | |||
| July 5, 2024 "Second Round" | 61,452,321 | 30,530,157 | 49.8 | 2 | Masoud Pezeshkian | 16,384,403 | 53,6 |