Ayatollah Jannati re-elected as Constitutional Council secretary
Ayatollah Jannati retained his post as the Constitutional Council’s chief after the body’s presiding board convened on Wednesday and re-elected him as the secretary of the Council.
Ayatollah Jannati has been the secretary of the Council since 1992. He was also elected as the chairman of Assembly of Experts in 2016, currently serving at two key posts in Iran’s political system.
During the annual elections within the Council, which took place on Wednesday morning, Siamak Rahpeik and Hadi Tahan-Nazif were also re-elected as deputy secretary and spokesperson of the body, respectively.
The council’s elections take place every year on the anniversary of the establishment of the Council.
The Constitutional Council is one of the most important and powerful bodies within the Islamic Republic of Iran’s fabric of governance. The Council’s constitutional mandates include interpretation of the Constitution, supervision of elections (approval or disapproval of candidates seeking to run in parliamentary, presidential, and Assembly of Experts elections) and the vetting of legislation passed by the country’s Parliament.
The Council is comprised of twelve members: Six Faqihs and six jurists. The Faqihs (Islamic jurists) are appointed by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, and the jurists are nominated by the head of the Judiciary Branch and confirmed by Parliament. According to Article 91 of the Constitution, the members are elected to serve for a period of six years.