Amplifying Citizen Voices; Promoting Accountability

A Review of Violations from the 2017 Iranian Elections

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. As in many countries, around each election Iranian press and media outlets are filled with reports of violations, campaign-related arrests, and legal proceedings. Deeper analysis of these violations can provide an understanding of the scope of such problems and how their scale might be related to problems in the system that could be improved. More importantly, citizens have to identify their role in the problem to ensure a broken system with violations as a symptom is not allowed to be considered "normal." Read more..

Maps of 2017 Iran Elections Results

On this page you can browse maps of results from the 2009, 2013 and 2017 Iranian presidential elections, organized by candidate and county. Move your cursor over a county for results data and click tabs for different years.

Tips and Tools for Social Media Advocacy

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.

Making Sense of Iran’s Administrative System and Divisions

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.

Campaign Finance Transparency in Iran

Money in politics is a double-edged sword that can lead to corruption and other problems if it is spent or received without being accounted for. Political candidates and parties need financial resources in order to move their campaigns forward and publicize their platforms. Therefore, the ins and outs of how money is acquired and distributed fairly in political contests highlight the need for transparency in campaign finance. If campaign finance is not transparent, civil society, supervisory bodies, and electoral rivals will not be able to identify and pursue electoral violations. A lack of transparency opens the way for money to influence the course of political decisions and elections, which should instead be settled at the ballot box. A transparent process makes for clearer links between the stances that candidates take and their financial supporters, as well as for fairer elections. Campaign finance transparency also increases voter confidence in the soundness of an election and the honesty of the candidates.

Learn How

Nabz-Iran online learning courses provide users with the tools and knowledge they need to be more effective in making their communities and country better.