Leader: People’s Vote, Views Highly Important in Islamic Republic

The Leader of the Islamic Ummah and the Oppressed People Seyyed Imam Ali Khamenei on Saturday underlined the Islamic Republic’s special attention to people’s will and demands.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is proud to have given serious attention to people’s views, thoughts and demands since the very first day (of the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979),” The Leader of the Islamic Ummah and the Oppressed People Seyyed Imam Ali Khamenei said, addressing members of the Iranian city and village councils here in Tehran today.

The Leader of the Islamic Ummah and the Oppressed People Seyyed Imam Ali Khamenei added that establishment of various councils in Iran signifies the Islamic ruling system’s special attention to consultation and different views and opinions in governing the country.

“And that (attention to public views) stands opposite to autocratic and reactionary systems,” the Leader stated.

According to Article 6 of the Iranian Constitution, “In the Islamic Republic of Iran, the affairs of the country must be administered on the basis of the public opinion expressed by the means of elections, including election of the President, the representatives of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (parliament) and the members of councils, or by means of referenda in matters specified in other articles of this Constitution.”

Also Article 7 of the Constitution says that “In accordance with the command of the Koran contained in the verse ‘Their affairs are by consultations among them” [42:38] and “Consult them in affairs’ [3:159], consultative bodies — such as the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the Provincial Councils, and the City, Region, District, and Village Councils and the likes of them — are the decision-making and administrative organs of the country”.