1979 Iranian Islamic Republic referendum

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
March 1979 Iranian Islamic Republic referendum
)

Islamic Republic referendum
30—31 March 1979[1] / Farvardin 10—11, 1358 SH
In the Name of the Almighty [God]
Provisional Government of Islamic Revolution
The Interior Ministry
Referendum Election Ballot
Age-old [monarchial] regime change to Islamic republic, the constitution of which will be approved by the nation — Yes or No?[2]
The two-parts ballot of referendum, with the green paper indicating "Yes" and red paper indicating "No"[2]
Results
Choice
 Votes %
Yes 20,147,855 99.31%
No 140,996 0.69%
Total votes 20,288,851 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout ~22,000,000[1] 89[3]%

A referendum on creating an

Islamic Republic was held in Iran
on 30 and 31 March 1979. Ayatollah Khomeini did not allow an open referendum, insisting that the Iranian population had chosen an "Islamic Republic" already by demonstrating against the Shah. In response, political parties such as the National Democratic Front and the Fadaiyan Khalgh boycotted the referendum.

The Mojahedin Khalgh, the Tudeh Party, The Liberation Movement, the National Front, and the Islamic People's Republican Party, also "objected to the imposition of Khomeini's choice".[4] According to "official results", it was approved by 98.2% of eligible citizens.[3][5]

In order to include the Iranian youth who participated in the revolution, the voting age was lowered from 18 to 16.[3]

Following this, the

another referendum
in December 1979.

Party policies

Position Organizations Ref
Yes
Islamic Republican Party [4]
National Front
 [4][6]
Freedom Movement [4][6]
Tudeh Party [4][6]
People's Mojahedin Organization
 [4]
Muslim People's Republic Party [4]
Toilers Party [7]
Iran Party [citation needed]
Pan-Iranist Party [citation needed]
Nation Party [citation needed]
Boycott
 National Democratic Front [4]
Organization of People's Fedai Guerrillas [8]
People's Fedai Guerrillas [9]
Peykar [citation needed]
Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan [10]
Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan [10]

Voting

Woman casting her vote

The

voting booths and the colored ballots could clearly be seen by observers, quoting head of the delegation "this is not the way we do things in the West, and it does not meet our criteria of democracy".[12] Sadegh Zibakalam describes the referendum as "free and fair".[13] Michael Axworthy states "there may have been some irregularities in the referendum, but most balanced observers then and since have accepted that whatever the conditions, a referendum at that time with that question would always have given a massive majority for the same result".[14]

A huge voter turnout was reported nationwide, except for Turkmen Sahra and Iranian Kurdistan, where the referendum was not held in full due to ongoing armed conflicts.[15]

Results

Choice Votes %
For 20,147,855 99.3
Against 140,996 0.7
Valid Votes 20,288,851 100
Source: Nohlen et al[1]
Choice Votes
Number of Eligible Voters 20,857,391
Number of Actual Voters 20,440,108
Voter Turnout 98%
Source: Iran Social Science Data Portal[16]

Results by province

Province Votes Proportion of votes
Yes No Yes No
East Azerbaijan Province
 2,001,628 5,354 99.73% 0.27%
West Azerbaijan Province
 640,323 5,547 99.14% 0.86%
Isfahan Province
 1,357,605 4,470 99.67% 0.33%
Ilam Province
 161,942 16 99.99% 0.01%
Bakhtaran Province
 612,830 6,159 99.00% 1.00%
Bushehr Province
 200,023 333 99.83% 0.17%
Tehran Province
 3,462,449 72,980 97.94% 2.06%
Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province
 210,936 885 99.58% 0.42%
Khorasan Province
 1,983,458 6,712 99.66% 0.34%
Khuzestan Province
 1,248,591 8,557 99.32% 0.68%
Zanjan Province
 765,786 875 99.89% 0.11%
Semnan Province
 185,674 424 99.77% 0.23%
Sistan and Baluchestan Province
 314,319 1,052 99.67% 0.33%
Fars Province
 1,224,821 5,281 99.57% 0.43%
Kordestan Province
 318,360 2,570 99.20% 0.80%
Kerman Province
 651,011 1,507 99.77% 0.23%
Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province
 159,463 254 99.84% 0.16%
Gilan Province
 810,708 7,539 99.08% 0.92%
Lorestan Province
 643,216 821 99.87% 0.13%
Mazandaran Province
 1,205,501 3,871 99.68% 0.32%
Markazi Province
 771,189 1,052 99.86% 0.14%
Hormozgan Province
 252,791 3,842 98.50% 1.50%
Hamedan Province
 744,636 1,023 99.86% 0.14%
Yazd Province
 241,024 187 99.92% 0.08%
Abroad 118,069 12,444 90.47% 9.53%
Total 20,286,353 153,755 99.25% 0.75%
Source: Ministry of Interior[permanent dead link]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-19-924958-X
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-1317605829
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-1135048310
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0-521-59572-8
    .
  5. ASIN B0007CAVDC
    .
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8130-1461-6
    .
  7. ISBN 9781908433022
    .
  8. ISBN 978-1135043810
    .
  9. ISBN 1860646301
    .
  10. ^
    OCLC 61425259
    .
  11. ^ Albala, Nuri; Dossou, Robert; Dreyfus, Nicole; Youssoufi, Abderahmane (May 1979), Commission internationale d'enquete en Iran sur la preparation et le deroulement du referendum des 30 et 31 mars, la situation actuelle des droits de Phomme et la mise en place des nouvelles institutions, les crimes du regime Pahlavi (in French), Association Internationale des Juristes Démocrates
  12. ^ Ronald Koven (2 April 1979). "Khomeini Decrees Islamic Republic After Vote in Iran". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  13. ISBN 978-1-107-72906-3
    .
  14. ^ Axworthy, Michael (2013), Revolutionary Iran: A History of the Islamic Republic, Oxford University Press, pp. 373–374
  15. ^ "Landslide Victory for Khomeini Reported in Voting". The New York Times. 2 April 1979. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  16. ^ "Referenda", The Iran Social Science Data Portal, Princeton University, retrieved 10 August 2016

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1979_Iranian_Islamic_Republic_referendum&oldid=1213157626"