Moderation and Development Party (Persian: حزب اعتدال و توسعه, romanized: Hezb-e E'tedāl va Towse'eh) is a political party in Iran. It is a pragmatic-centrist political party which held its first congress in 2002.[7]
Moderation and Development Party | |
---|---|
Leader | Hassan Rouhani[1] |
Secretary-General | Mohammad Bagher Nobakht[2] |
Spokesperson | Ramezan-Ali Sobhanifar[3] |
Executive Secretary | Morteza Bank[4] |
Politburo Head | Mahmoud Vaezi |
Election Head | Ali Jannati[5] |
Founded | 1999[1] |
Headquarters | Tehran, Iran |
Ideology | Moderation Pragmatism Islamic democracy Technocracy |
Political position | Centre[6] |
Alliance |
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Website | |
https://www.hezbet.ir | |
The party is part of the faction called "modernist right", "moderate reformists" and "technocrats" that draws from upper-level bureaucrats, industrialists and managers.[8] It deals with a platform on modernization and economic growth rather than social justice, along with the Executives of Construction Party and the Islamic Labour Party.[9] The party has been allied with Popular Coalition of Reforms[6] and Pervasive Coalition of Reformists[10] in parliamentary elections and has had good relations with both Mohammad Khatami’s reform program and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.[2] In April 2017, the party joined the supreme policymaking council of reformists.[11]
Some sources branded them as part of the conservative camp in the 2000s[12][13][14] or reformists under the leadership of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.[15] In 2003, the party's spokesperson wrote in Hamshahri that the party regards itself among "true reformists", who are idealists considering "social realities" interpreted with the "principle of moderation".[16]
According to Ali Afshari, the party prioritizes economic expansion and follows free market policies, however a minority faction represented by members such as Nobakht, advocate institutionalized economy and maintain that the government should interfere to regulate markets to a limited extent.[17] They support limited political and cultural transformations, and believe political activism should only be within the frameworks of the constitution. The party also embraces Velayat Faqih.[17]
Year | Candidate |
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2001 | Mohammad Khatami |
2005 | Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani[18] |
2009 | Mir-Hossein Mousavi[19] |
2013 | Hassan Rouhani[1] |
2017 | Hassan Rouhani[20] |
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2016) |