Islam and Elections

2004 Background Paper (Continued)


Table I 52
Algeria
The president is elected by popular vote. He appoints the prime minister.
Azerbaijan
The president is elected by popular vote.
Bahrain
The hereditary king appoints the prime minister.
Bangladesh
The presidency is a mostly ceremonial post filled by popular vote. The president appoints the head of the party with the largest number of seats in the legislature as prime minister.
Egypt
The president is nominated by the People’s Assembly, and the nomination is ratified by a popular vote. The president appoints the prime minister.
Indonesia
The president and vice president are elected separately by the People’s Consultative Assembly.
Iran
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution (rahbar or vali faqih) is elected for life by the Assembly of Experts, an elected body of clergy which also appoints the Guardian Council. The president is elected by popular vote and appoints the Council of Ministers.
Jordan
The hereditary king is chief of state. He appoints the prime minister.
Kuwait
The hereditary amir is chief of state. He appoints the prime minister.
Lebanon
The president is elected by the National Assembly. He appoints the prime minister and the deputy prime minister in consultation with the assembly.
Libya
The president is elected by the National Assembly. He appoints the prime minister and the deputy prime minister in consultation with the assembly.
Malaysia
The paramount ruler is elected by and from the group of hereditary rulers of the nine states. The prime minister is the head of the party that holds the largest number of seats in the House of Representatives.
Mali
The president is elected by popular vote and appoints the prime minister.
Morocco
The hereditary king is chief of state. He appoints the prime minister following elections to the legislature.
Oman
The hereditary sultan serves as chief of state and prime minister.
Pakistan
Since 1999 the constitution has been suspended. With the consent of the Supreme Court, the head of the army serves as chief of state and head of government. This was confirmed by popular referendum.
Senegal
The president is elected by popular vote and appoints the prime minister.
Sudan
The president is elected by popular vote and serves as head of government.
Syria
The president is elected by popular vote but is the nominee of the Ba‘ath Party, which is allotted a controlling number of seats in the legislature.
Tajikistan
The president is elected by popular vote and appoints the prime minister.
Tunisia
The president is elected by popular vote.
Turkey
The president is elected by the National Assembly. He appoints the prime minister. The National Security Council, made up of military officers, plays an advisory role.
Uzbekistan
The president is elected by popular vote and appoints the prime minister.
Yemen
The president is elected by popular vote and appoints the vice president, prime minister, and deputy prime minister.

Although this survey does not include all Muslim states, it makes clear that most Muslim voters today do not vote directly for their chiefs of state. Consequently, analyses of electoral systems predicated on direct votes for president, such as take place in the United States or France, are currently of little relevance when it comes to the Muslim world. Thus, many electoral problems that are vigorously debated in countries with direct voting for executives (and in the United States in particular)—i.e. campaign finance limitations, television advertising, and the influence of large donors on elected officials—stand more as warnings of what could happen in the future in the Muslim world rather than as current problems.

The small number of Muslim countries that directly elect chief executives also places greater emphasis on legislative elections, and on the strategies adopted by those elected to bodies containing several political parties or alignments. Table 2 profiles the elected legislatures of the twenty-four countries surveyed in Table 1.

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