Emphasizing the special place of the Constitution in the country, the president stated that the Constitution actually explains the system, the framework of different branches of the system, their relationship with each other, and, more importantly, people's relationship with the government.
Speaking on Monday in the meeting of constitutional law and citizenship rights for reviewing the process of ratification of the constitution, Hassan Rouhani referred to Imam Khomeini's (RA) emphasis on the "Islamic Republic" system and said, "If our system was not a republic and the republic aspect was not in it, and the election was not the basis, I don't think this system would remain until today".
Emphasizing that the republic aspect, elections and the votes of the people are the foundation that has maintained this system well, the President said, "It is very important that the basis of our system is people's votes, while the legitimacy of the system is, of course, the religious framework".
"The Islamic aspect of the system has always been considered as a pillar, but in its republic aspect, I want to emphasize that people's votes play a very fundamental role, but in our country, unfortunately, we do not have a partisan system," said Rouhani.
Rouhani added, "When you rely on the people's votes, people should come and vote, and if you do not have a partisan system, it will be a bit difficult, that is, people's choice will be a bit difficult with all the babel close to the elections, which would be a bit easier in a partisan system".
The President also emphasized that our system is not a partisan one in the constitution, and the constitution is not based on the partisan system, which means we vote for individuals in the elections and do not vote for a party, be it the Parliament, the City Council or Assembly of Experts".
Rouhani stated, "We do not have a party filter either, things are done through the Guardian Council or wherever it is, but in any case, it is not a partisan one. We have such problems that we have to think about; For example, revising the constitution at a time when it is needed is fine".
"Of course, constitutions throughout the world are usually amended in a long time, but now the constitution has not been amended for thirty-one years. Amendments were made at the end of Imam Khomeini's (RA) life, but in these thirty-one years, the constitution has not amended, and it may need to be amended sometime," said the President.
Referring to the importance of discussing the inclusion of the partisan system in the constitution, the President continued, "One time in one of the committees of the Expediency Council, we predicted, discussed and approved a framework on the election law and the general policies of the partisan system election law, which stopped for some reason".
Rouhani emphasized that the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a good one in the world, to which we can be proud, and said, "Since 1979 when this constitution was drafted, especially in the sections related to people's rights in Chapter 3, there are clear and modern principles that can be presented in the world as a modern constitution, which, of course, may have some flaws and should be amended".
Pointing out that our understanding of the constitution is not the same, the president added, "It is predicted that when we need to interpret the constitution, which institution will do that, but before we reach an interpretation, it is very important to know what understanding we have of this law".
Rouhani said that even the pillars of the system, namely the government, parliament, and judiciary do not have a common understanding and do not think alike, and sometimes there may be disagreement on even important issues, saying, "Sometimes we hear some members of parliament say that they should oversee is the performance of ministers, which is an incomplete interpretation of the constitution".
The President stressed that overseeing the performance of ministers and the government only means questioning, investigation and impeachment, but overseeing the work of ministers and coordinating and resolving disputes between ministers is one of the duties of the president, saying, "The word 'oversee' has not been mentioned in the constitution for the parliament to oversee the work of the government".
The president stressed, "Article 113 of the constitution has several issues, one is to determine the position of the president, in which it is mentioned that the president is the second official and the highest official of the country after the Supreme Leader, and immediately after that it says that he is responsible for the implementation of the constitution, that is, the person who is the highest official after the leader is responsible for the implementation of the constitution".
MNA/President.ir