From "People's Choice Imam" to "Religious Democracy"The Study of People's Position in the "Velayat System" from the Perspective of Imam Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei

One of the theories about the Velayat system is the theory of "Velayat _e_ Faqih". Although this theory had been put forward by other scholars before Imam Khomeini, but with its implementation in the Islamic Republic of Iran following the victory of the Islamic Revolution and imam Khomeini at its head, a special political system was established in Iran. This article seeks to study the position of people in the Velayat system in the thought of Imam Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei. It seems that, from the viewpoint of Imam Khomeini and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, people have a decisive place in the Velayat system, and the theory of Imam Khomeini entitled "People's Choice Imam" is the same theory that Ayatollah Khamenei called "Religious Democracy". According to these two theories, the role of the people in the velayat system derives from Islam, and religious democracy is not just a customary contract, but a religious duty in which the people elect the Islamic ruler and decide the fate of ruling the country through their electorates. The fundamental right of the people to make this choice is Islam itself. At the same time, in the opinion of the leaders of the Islamic Revolution, the Velayat system has a fundamental difference with the liberal democracy system, the difference being that the Velayat system is based on the constitution of Islam, in which both the elective conditions and the laws for governing the country are extracted from Islam. At the same time, it is up to the people to vote and demand the principle of the Velayat system.