Article 99 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran:
The Guardian Council is responsible for monitoring the elections of the Assembly of Experts, Presidency, Parliament, as well as direct recourse to popular opinion and referendums.
Interpretation:
Number 3/33 dated 22/2/1370 [5/12/1991]
The Honorable Guardian Council,
Considering that elections are affairs of the most importance for the people; and that the Islamic nation, with its revolutionary progress, has participated in elections during every cycle; and that in the future as well, elections should be conducted in a way to ensure that the people’s open participation is safeguarded; and since this is dependant upon the supervision of the Guardian Council such that in every way an absolute lack of bias is assured; and as sometimes there is confusion about distortions in the quality of execution and supervision [of the election process];
the respected council is requested to issue its interpretive opinion regarding its understanding of article 99 of the Constitution.
Gholamreza Rezvani
Head of the central committee on Guardian Council’s supervision of elections
Number 1234, dated 1/3/1370 [5/22/1991]
Central committee on Guardian Council’s supervision of elections,
Regarding letter # 3/33 dated 5/12/1990,
This issue was on the agenda of the meeting of 5/22/1991, and the view of the council is the following: “The supervision stated in article 99 is proactive [nezarat-e estesvabi, i.e. with the right to make legally binding interventions] and includes all executive stages of the election, including confirming or rejecting the qualifications of candidates”.
The secretary of the Guardian Council – Mohammad Mohammadi-Gilani