Unlike many opposition groups around the world, the MEK is ready and willing to usher in a new Iran once this regime falls; an Iran that would be democratic and free. Given that the Iranian mullahs, besieged by domestic and international pressures, will soon fall, it seems only right to look at the 10-Point political platform that was adopted by the MEK and the rest of the democratic Iranian Resistance.
1. Free and Fair Elections: The MEK believes that the ballot box is the only way to political legitimacy, so the MEK seeks universal suffrage and democratic elections.
2. Pluralism: The MEK wants a free society, with respect to all individual freedoms. This means freedom of parties, assembly, expression, the media, and the internet.
3. Death Penalty: The MEK is committed to the abolition of the death penalty. Currently, Iran is the world’s leading executioner by capita.
4. Separation of Religion and State: The MEK believes that the current relationship between religion and government in Iran should end. This would also involve the removal of Sharia law and the ending of discrimination against followers of any religion and denomination.
5. Gender Equality: The MEK believes in total gender equality across all areas of life and would ban any form of discrimination against women. The MEK champions the equal participation of women in political leadership and believes that they should be free in marriage, divorce, education, clothing, and employment.
6. Judicial System: The MEK believes in the rule of law and wants to establish a modern judicial system, based on the presumption of innocence, with the rights of the defendant protected, including the right to a defence and the right to be tried in a public court. The MEK also seeks judges who are independent of the legislative branch.
7. Human Rights: The MEK is committed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and international covenant and conventions, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture, and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women.
8. Equality: The MEK is committed to the equality of all nationalities in Iran, including the autonomy of Iranian Kurdistan, which was adopted as a plan by the National Council of Resistance of Iran. The MEK wrote: “The language and culture of our compatriots from whatever nationality, are among our nation’s human resources and must spread and be promulgated in tomorrow’s Iran.”
9. Market Economy: The MEK believes that all Iranian people must enjoy equal opportunity in employment and in business ventures, which is why the MEK recognizes private property, private investment and the market economy.
10. Foreign Policy: The MEK will base their foreign policy on peaceful coexistence, international and regional peace and cooperation, as well as respect for the United Nations Charter. They also want a non-nuclear Iran, free of weapons of mass destruction.
