Ahmad Jannati Reappointed as Secretary of the Guardian Council

Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati has been reappointed for another six-year term as the Secretary of Iran's Guardian Council. Abbasali Kadkhodai, the spokesperson for the Guardian Council, stated to the Islamic Republic's broadcasting service that Mr. Jannati was reappointed in the council's meeting on Wednesday, July 30, with a "majority vote of the members." Ahmad Jannati has been the Secretary of the Guardian Council since 1992 and has been a member of the council since its establishment in 1980. Mr. Jannati is 89 years old and was reappointed last week by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, for another six-year term as one of the clerical members of the Guardian Council. The Guardian Council consists of six clerics directly appointed by the Supreme Leader and six legal experts introduced to the Islamic Consultative Assembly by the head of the judiciary (also appointed by the Supreme Leader) to be voted on for membership in the Guardian Council. In the Wednesday meeting, Abbasali Kadkhodai was also re-elected as the spokesperson for the council. According to the constitution of the Islamic Republic, the Guardian Council is responsible for reviewing the legislation passed by the Islamic Consultative Assembly to ensure compliance with Islamic law and the constitution. If the members of the Guardian Council determine that the legislation contradicts Islamic law or the constitution, they reject it. The constitution also assigns the Guardian Council the task of overseeing presidential elections, parliamentary elections, and the Assembly of Experts. It designates the Guardian Council as the body responsible for interpreting the constitution. The Guardian Council has interpreted its oversight of these three elections as "discretionary" and based on this, has disqualified thousands of candidates in past elections.