Iran held three concurrent elections in May 2017: presidential, city and village council, and mid-term parliamentary. It is nothing new to say that elections in Iran are neither free nor fair, but a careful look at the types of electoral violations reported makes it possible to identify different facets of challenges in how elections are organized in Iran and to come up with suggestions for ways to reform them. Read more..

Social media allows us to connect and interact with people around the globe, and more often than not social media is used to inform citizens about issues and draw in support for social change initiatives. To support citizens, activists and social change actors raise their voice and draw attention to the issues they care about, Nabz-Iran and Macholand developed this manual to support Iranians, and specifically Iranian women seeking to increase their presence and amplify their voices on the issues that matter via social media. The manual provides an with an overview of popular social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and offers tips on how to effectively use each platform to influence and drive change.

Government in Iran is based on a centralized system, but in order to encourage citizen participation, the law grants local entities certain levels of authority in decision-making, implementation, consultation, and oversight. The Interior Ministry is in charge of controlling and supervising the governance process at the local level. Major areas of governance including maintaining public order, education, water and energy, universities, healthcare, and culture continue to be administered directly from the center, although local entities do have the ability to influence its decisions.

This practical guide aims to introduce civil society actors to the various procedures and mechanisms in place for starting and operating civil society organizations (CSOs) in Iran based on the current codes and laws in place that regulate civil society. It starts off with an overview of the application process for receiving permits and authorization to operate. It then highlights other procedural challenges to help civil society actors choose the most appropriate permitting option based on the type of activities the organization will engage in.