What:

National Elections are being held to elect a new key assembly (The Assembly of Experts). The Assembly is an 86 member supra-governmental body which has the power to appoint and dismiss the country's supreme religious and political leader, known as the Rahbar or Vali-yi Faqih. The current Rahbar is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

   Where: Iran

   When: October 23, 1998

Despite the urging, the lackluster election campaign has failed to draw much excitement because of lack of competition: most of the 161 candidates -- all clergymen -- are hard-liners who were selected by a supervisory Council of Guardians controlled by conservatives.

In examining 396 potential candidates, the council eliminated most supporters of President Mohammad Khatami, a moderate clergyman with wide popular support. By eliminating the moderates for Friday's assembly election, the conservatives were hoping to prevent a repeat of the stinging defeat in 1997 presidential election when 20 million out of 30 million people voted for Khatami against a hard-line rival.

In 1998, the hard-liners (conservative clergymen) controlled most of the major state institutions such as the judiciary and security agencies.

The 12-member Council of Guardians supervises elections and determines the constitutionality of all laws passed by the Majles (the unicameral legislature) , as well as their conformity to Islamic principles; six theologians are appointed by the faqih (supreme leader), and six other Islamic jurists are nominated by the High Council of the Judiciary and approved by the Majles.

16 moderate candidates and 70 conservative candidates were elected to the Assemble of Experts.

There was a 46% voter turnout.