حزب سکولار دموکرات ایرانیان

Iranian Secular Democratic Party

حاکمیت ملت

سکولار دموکراسی در قانون اساسی

کار، توسعه و رفاه اجتماعی

Party Platform of the Iranian Secular Democratic Party

Adopted 22 Mehr 1398 — 14 October 2019

Foreword

a. Inspired by the document known as the “New Age Covenant”, and born out of the effort that on 5 August 2013 (14 Mordad 1392) took the name “Iranian Secular Democracy Movement”, and in order to respond to the political and managerial needs of today and the future of Iran, a group of Iranians committed to secular democracy spent a year in study and discussion. On the auspicious day of 5 August 2016 (14 Mordad 1395), the 110th anniversary of the victory of the Constitutional Revolution, they completed the preparatory work for founding the Iranian Secular Democratic Party (hereafter “the Party”) in the form of this Platform and its attached By-laws. The Party then announced its formation during the Fourth Congress of Iranian Secular Democrats (Hamburg — 20 Shahrivar 1395 / 10 September 2016).

b. The Party believes that the constitution and main pillars of the Islamic regime ruling Iran are inherently unreformable; it seeks to end this rule, abolish the religion-based, Sharia-based and ideology-driven constitution, and dissolve all Sharia-based state institutions such as the “Guardianship of the Jurist”, the Assembly of Experts, the Guardian Council, Sharia courts, and the various state bodies of religious propaganda.

Note 1: By “ideology” we do not mean the ideas and program of a political party that is freely elected for a limited period in order to implement that program. Rather, we mean a pre-packaged set of ideas, doctrines, myths, and symbols belonging to a movement, institution, class, or large group which imposes fixed political and cultural patterns in order to create a specific social order and prescribes how society “must” function.

Note 2: The Party considers religion and Sharia to be of the same nature as ideology.

c. Until the overthrow of the Islamic regime in Iran, and given that openly declaring an abolitionist strategy inside the country exposes activists to grave danger, the Party supports any demands raised by freedom-seekers that do not confer legitimacy on the Islamic constitution.

d. After the fall and dissolution of the Islamic regime and the adoption of a new constitution, the clauses of this Platform that deal with pre-collapse actions shall be revised, amended, or deleted as needed.

Introduction

Article 1. The Party envisages three stages of activity:

a) Pioneer stage (in exile): A political-organizational phase outside Iran during which the Party focuses on recruiting members, training cadres, developing forward-looking executive programs, actively helping to build a modern, freedom-oriented, human-centered secular-democratic alternative through coalition with other secular-democratic forces, and preparing for the creation of a provisional government in exile.

Note 1: The Party’s ultimate goal is to help establish a secular-democratic government in Iran on the basis of a constitution grounded in the principles of secular democracy. In this path, its efforts aim at coalition and joint action with other secular-democratic, pro-democracy organizations. Given the plurality of political forces, the Party is ready, within the secular- democratic spectrum and under specific conditions, to enter wider coalitions with other organizations and political figures. However, it will not cooperate with persons or organizations which, in the judgment of the Party’s Central Council, have participated in the repression of the people of Iran.

Note 2: In the pioneer/abolitionist phase, the Party believes that the highest priority for all political groups must be safeguarding the territorial integrity and unity of the Iranian nation and state.

b) Return to Iran: In the (inevitable) period when the religious regime has been overthrown and dissolved and political activity in Iran becomes possible, the Party, as part of the alternative force replacing the old regime, will operate independently and actively participate in establishing a provisional government, convening a Constituent Assembly, drafting and adopting a new constitution, and holding the referendums foreseen in it.

c) Open and official activity: After the new constitution is adopted, the Party will participate in free elections for the legislature and government and seek a share in governing the country.

Note: If, due to unexpected events, the future constitution of the country is not secular-democratic in nature, or if secular-democratic principles are later removed from it, the Party will assume an oppositional stance and continue to act — openly, or underground if forced — against that constitution and the government based on it.

On the Nature and Characteristics of the Party

Article 2. As a political institution, the Party understands politics at the national level as participation, or the struggle to participate, in the governance of the country. Accordingly, political parties must possess programs aimed at job creation, securing freedom, welfare and well-being for citizens, protecting national interests, and preserving the territorial integrity of the country. Based on belief in the sovereignty of the nation and national sovereignty, and within a secular-democratic constitution that legitimizes the state and government, the Party seeks to:

Article 3. The Party sees its roots in the freedom-seeking, justice-oriented and modernizing movement of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution. It draws inspiration from the aspirations embodied in that movement, while rejecting later additions to the Constitutional Law that negated its spirit, such as the notion of an official state religion, supervisory powers for Shia clerics over legislation, and extra-constitutional powers granted to unaccountable authorities.

Article 4. The Party is based on the principle of national sovereignty and therefore believes in “one country — one nation — one government”. In its view, the various ethnic, cultural, religious, gender and other groups living in Iran cannot each be described as separate “nations”.

Article 5. In order to preserve the rich, diverse, vibrant cultural values and norms of the peoples of Iran, rooted in the varied environment of this land, the Party considers itself the home of all Iranians who have freed themselves from superstition and believe in science, reason and national interest. It does not treat these positions as an “ideology” or as a merely power-seeking political doctrine, but as the logical, systematic outcome of the requirements of a diverse society.

Article 6. The Party believes that a modern political party:

Article 7. The Party opposes any religious, sectarian or ideological imposition on society and will actively struggle against it.

Article 8. The Party strives, through clear and well-argued programs for rebuilding the country, job creation, and improving life — especially for the young — and by participating in elections based on respect for the free will of the people, to gain executive authority and place its services, in accordance with democratic statecraft and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, at the disposal of the people of Iran.

Article 9. The Party is committed at all times to the principle of “republicanism” in the following sense:

Note: The Party favors a “dual-head” structure for the state in which one of the two heads is purely symbolic and has no role in day-to-day governance. It prefers the title “President” for this symbolic head of state.

Article 10. In future referendums and elections in a free Iran, the Party will act as a republican party. Naturally, Party members as individual citizens will vote according to their own consciences.

Article 11. The Party accepts the decision of the people as expressed in elections held under a secular-democratic constitution and in line with the resolutions of the Inter-Parliamentary Union of the United Nations. It will not resist the people’s will nor seek to restrict it. Whenever the free and fair vote of the people removes the Party from power, it will faithfully and properly hand over the reins of government.

Article 12. In making social decisions in a free, prosperous, entrepreneurial and joyful Iran, the Party gives precedence to expertise over non-scientific, religious or ideological beliefs.

On the Party’s Understanding of Democracy

Article 13. The Party defines democracy as the sovereignty of the nation-state and its interests. In international usage, “nation-state” refers to all the people who, despite ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity, live within internationally recognized borders, share political independence and territorial unity, and define a common destiny.

Article 14. The Party bases its understanding of democracy on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all related conventions and instruments.

Article 15. In the Party’s view, democracy is inherently secular. Adjectives such as “popular”, “people’s”, “council”, “religious” or “Islamic” cannot be logically attached to it to alter its nature.

Article 16. Democracy, in the Party’s view, rests on recognizing social pluralism and must actively protect and preserve that pluralism.

Article 17. A necessary condition for democracy, from the Party’s perspective, is the unconditional freedom of expression and advocacy of all beliefs, and the freedom of parties, associations and media, within laws based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Article 18. People feel at ease, prosperous and happy only in a society whose structure guarantees their civil rights, their fair share in social opportunities, and the elimination of all discrimination. Therefore, in the democracy envisaged by the Party, the share and role of society as a whole in managing the country takes precedence over that of the individual.

On the Characteristics of Secular Democracy

Article 19. The Party understands secular democracy (also described as “political-legal secularism”) as the separation of religions and totalizing ideologies from the state, constitution and state institutions. It does not recognize any official or state religion or ideology. It considers religion and ideology to be of the same nature, but as long as they do not interfere with the state, it does not oppose their peaceful activities in society.

Article 20. The secular democracy advocated by the Party is political in nature. It guarantees the complete separation of religion and ideology from the state, while being a tolerant protector of citizens’ religious and ideological freedoms. In this sense, “political secularism” is distinct from “philosophical secularism”, which in classical Iranian thought — known as the doctrine of the “Dahriyun” — denies metaphysical realms and is the only definition of secularism propagated by the current Islamic regime.

Article 21. While it regards religious and ideological organizations as part of civil society, the Party believes the state must not allow them to intervene in state or semi-state institutions, especially in legislation, the judiciary, education, public health or national security.

Article 22. A secular-democratic state does not finance religious or ideological organizations. On the contrary, it must, under tax law, levy taxes on their income. Any financial relationship between religious/ideological institutions and foreign states or institutions must be subject to the explicit permission of the secular-democratic government of Iran.

Note: A future National Assembly, guided by secular-democratic principles, must review the past and future status of all religious institutions that have used public funds.

Article 23. The secular democracy envisaged by the Party does not recognize any special legal or social privileges for clergy of any religion. It regards the use of religious garb (or any kind of uniform) in non-professional public roles as an abuse and therefore impermissible. In addition, it considers the issuing of “political and social fatwas” by religious leaders, because of their prescriptive and executive nature, a form of interference in state affairs rather than an exercise of free expression.

Article 24. The secular democracy envisaged by the Party rejects all discrimination and therefore opposes domination of the state by any particular ethnic or racial group anywhere in the country.

On the Economic System

Article 25. With regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Party recognizes a free economy and private ownership, while also insisting on the necessity of social welfare. In pursuit of development it draws on the technical achievements of both liberal and social democratic schools of thought.

Article 26. The Party considers the country’s wealth, major resources and public tax revenues to belong to the people of Iran. It regards the government as responsible for preventing all personal or factional misuse of them. In a secular-democratic Iran, no natural or legal person may be exempt from tax law.

Article 27. The Party is committed to freeing the state and country from oil-dependent and raw-material-export-based economics and supports a production-based economy in which the domestic productive sector is qualitatively and quantitatively diversified.

Article 28. The Party demands that job creation for young people be given priority and treats this as a central urgent program in human-development terms, seeing it as the starting point for access to housing, healthcare, family formation and all levels of education.

Article 29. On the basis of the above, the Party will gradually draft detailed programs for governing the country, review and refine them, and work for their implementation.

On Securing Freedom

Article 30. Committed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in order to prevent social instability from becoming institutionalized, the Party regards the essential conditions for economic growth, spiritual progress, public welfare and satisfaction, and citizens’ active concern for their country’s fate as: guaranteeing all freedoms listed in that Declaration; abolishing political imprisonment and house arrest and all punishment for beliefs; combating all forms of overt or covert violence; and eliminating discrimination from all institutions of society. The Party commits itself to securing these needs.

Article 31. The Party emphasizes the importance of the freedom of non-governmental, non-profit civil institutions (parties, associations, unions, syndicates, etc.) and supports their activities.

Article 32. The Party considers the creation and continued existence of armed groups outside the regular national armed and security forces to be incompatible with freedom, democracy and national unity.

Article 33. The Party opposes the death penalty and all forms of torture.

On Decentralization

Article 34. The Party views centralized rule as contrary to national sovereignty and a source of despotism. Therefore, alongside the general, country-wide responsibilities of the three branches of the central government (such as determining the overall economic and monetary system, national security and foreign relations), it believes in establishing a system of “self-government” at the local and regional level. At the same time it opposes any claim to “autonomy” or “the right to self-determination” for parts of the country and considers such demands signs of separatism.

Article 35. The Party holds that the division of the country into self-governing regions (self-governing, not autonomous) must be based not on ethnicity, language or religion, but on territorial conditions and needs as determined by modern “spatial planning” principles, in line with the national interest.

Article 36. The Party believes that within the competences assigned to self-governing regions by the constitution, executive decisions at various levels must be taken by people elected directly by the local population. However, the by-laws and regulations adopted by self-governing regions must not contradict the constitution or nationwide laws.

Article 37. The Party recognizes Persian as the official and administrative language of the entire country, while supporting the preservation and teaching of other languages spoken in Iran, seeing this linguistic diversity as one of the strengths of Iranian culture. National education regulations are binding everywhere.

On Foreign Policy

Article 38. The Party believes that Iran’s international presence must serve the independence and sovereignty of the Iranian nation and its interests. It supports mutual respect for the rights of all countries and non- interference in one another’s affairs, sees this as the basis for global peace, and insists that Iran adhere actively and practically to these principles.

Article 39. The Party wants Iran’s foreign policy to be based on non-interference and mutual respect among states. As a member of the United Nations, Iran must be a peaceful country, supportive of coexistence among nations, and cooperate with other states in establishing peace and stability in the world.

On Adoption and Amendment

Article 40. This Platform may only be reviewed and amended at ordinary or extraordinary Party congresses, with the positive vote of at least 75% of the members.

Note: Any future amendments to the Party By-laws may not contradict the overall spirit of this Platform. Determining whether a contradiction exists shall be based on the vote of twenty percent of Party members.

Article 41. This Platform was adopted on 22 Mehr 1398 (14 October 2019) at the regular congress of Party members.