General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Jane Sanders, on elections: "Iranians show the world how it's done." [View all]pnwmom
(108,955 posts)the Supreme Leader, a cleric who is appointed for life.
And there are many other ways Iran doesn't "show the world how it's done."
http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/16/middleeast/iran-election-beginners-guide/
Is Iran really a democracy?
Yes and no. Iran's president and parliament are democratically-elected, but the country's highest authority is the Supreme Leader, who is appointed for life and has the final say on all matter of foreign and domestic policy.
The Supreme Leader -- currently an ultra-conservative cleric named Ayatollah Ali Khamenei -- helps appoint the Guardian Council, an unelected panel of conservatives that decides who gets to run for president (and who doesn't). Many popular reformist candidates have been disqualified from running in recent elections.