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1979 Iranian Islamic Republic referendum

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Islamic Republic referendum
30–31 March 1979[1]
In the Name of God
Interim Government of the Islamic Revolution
Ministry of Interior
Referendum Election Ballot
Change of previous regime into Islamic Republic
the constitution of which to be approved by the nation.[2]
The two-part ballot of the referendum, with the green paper (left) indicating "Yes" and red paper (right) indicating "No" in Persian.
OutcomeIran becomes an Islamic republic
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 establishing an Islamic republic was held in Iran on 30 and 31 March 1979. It took place in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, which led to the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty on 11 February 1979 and the rise of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as Iran's de facto leader.[4][5] Voters were asked whether the country should be transformed into an "Islamic Republic", to replace the outgoing Imperial State.[6] The proposal was approved by an overwhelming majority, although the result was marred by boycotts and disputes over electoral interference.[7][8]

Following the referendum, the Persian Constitution of 1906 was declared invalid, and a new constitution based on Sharia law and the doctrine of velayat-e-faqih was drafted and ratified by a further referendum on 3 December 1979.[9]

Voting process

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Woman casting her vote

Voters were given a three-part ballot, two of which (the "Yes" and "No" sections) contained the following statement:

بسمه تعالی
دولت موقّت انقلاب اسلامی
وزارت کشور
تعرفهٔ انتخابات رفراندم
تغییر رژیم سابق به جمهوری اسلامی
که قانون اساسی آن از تصویب ملّت خواهد گذشت.
Translation:
In the Name of God
Interim Government of the Islamic Revolution
Ministry of Interior
Referendum Election Ballot
Change of previous regime into Islamic Republic
the constitution of which to be approved by the nation.

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

Results

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The measure to transform Iran into an "Islamic Republic" was approved by 98.2% of eligible voters.[10] A high voter turnout was reported nationwide, except in Turkmen Sahra and Kurdistan, where the referendum was not fully held due to ongoing armed conflicts.[11]

Dispute over legitimacy

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Ahead of the referendum, the Interim Government of Iran invited a four-man delegation from International Association of Democratic Lawyers to monitor the voting process.[12] Nuri Albala, a French member of the delegation, told The New York Times that "there were no booths, and voting was done in the presence of Islamic officials, often amid dozens of posters calling for a yes vote. There were many reports of polling officers tearing off the green‐colored "yes" portions of the ballots and stuffing them in the boxes on behalf of the voters...A number of young voters told reporters that they were afraid to openly vote no in the presence of so many others who felt otherwise".[7] Similarly, a report by The Washington Post noted that polling places lacked private booths, and that the color-coded ballots could clearly be seen by the polling officers, prompting the head of the delegation to state that "this is not the way we do things in the West, and it does not meet our criteria of democracy".[8] However, Michael Axworthy, author of Revolutionary Iran: A History of the Islamic Republic, states that "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", namely the end of the monarchy.[13]

Numerous political parties, such as the National Democratic Front and the People's Fedai Guerrillas, boycotted both participation in and the results of the referendum. The People's Mojahedin Organization, the Tudeh Party, the Freedom Movement, the National Front, and the Muslim People's Republican Party, while approving the referendum, "objected to the imposition of Khomeini's choice".[14]

Party policies

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Position Organizations Ref
Yes
Islamic Republican Party [14]
National Front [14][15]
Freedom Movement [14][15]
Tudeh Party [14][15]
People's Mojahedin Organization [14]
Muslim People's Republic Party [14]
Toilers Party [16]
Iran Party [citation needed]
Pan-Iranist Party [17]
Nation Party [17]
Boycott
 National Democratic Front [14]
Organization of People's Fedai Guerrillas [18]
People's Fedai Guerrillas [19]
Peykar [17]
Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan [20]
Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan [20]

Statistics

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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[21]

Results by province

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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

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Nohlen, Dieter; Grotz, Florian; Hartmann, Christof (2001). "Iran". Elections in Asia: A Data Handbook. Vol. I. Oxford University Press. p. 68. ISBN 0-19-924958-X.
  2. ^ Hovsepian-Bearce, Yvette (2015). The Political Ideology of Ayatollah Khamenei: Out of the Mouth of the Supreme Leader of Iran. Routledge. p. 13. ISBN 978-1317605829.
  3. ^ a b Hiro, Dilip (2013). Holy Wars (Routledge Revivals): The Rise of Islamic Fundamentalism. Routledge. p. 169. ISBN 978-1135048310.
  4. ^ Basravi, Zein (30 March 2019). "Iran's referendum and the transformation to the Islamic Republic". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  5. ^ "Iran 1979". Constitution Writing & Conflict Resolution, Princeton University. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  6. ^ Jaynes, Gregory (2 April 1979). "Khomeini Declares Victory in Vote For a 'Government of God' in Iran". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  7. ^ a b Jaynes, Gregory (1 April 1979). "Landslide Victory for Khomeini Reported in Voting". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  8. ^ a b Ronald Koven (2 April 1979). "Khomeini Decrees Islamic Republic After Vote in Iran". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  9. ^ "The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran". University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. 1992.
  10. ^ Chehabi, Houchang Esfandiar (1986). Modernist Shi'ism and Politics: The Liberation Movement of Iran (PhD Dissertation). Vol. I/II. Yale University. p. 499. ASIN B0007CAVDC.
  11. ^ "Landslide Victory for Khomeini Reported in Voting". The New York Times. 2 April 1979. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  12. ^ 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
  13. ^ Axworthy, Michael (2013), Revolutionary Iran: A History of the Islamic Republic, Oxford University Press, pp. 373–374
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h Paydar, Parvin (1995). Women and the Political Process in Twentieth-Century Iran. Cambridge University Press. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-521-59572-8.
  15. ^ a b c Baktiari, Bahman (1996). Parliamentary Politics in Revolutionary Iran: The Institutionalization of Factional Politics. University Press of Florida. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-8130-1461-6.
  16. ^ Haddad Adel, Gholamali; Elmi, Mohammad Jafar; Taromi-Rad, Hassan. Political Parties: Selected Entries from Encyclopaedia of the World of Islam. EWI Press. pp. 209–215. ISBN 9781908433022.
  17. ^ a b c "بررسی فرایند برگزاری همه‌پرسی نظام جمهوری اسلامی در فروردین 1358". historydocuments.
  18. ^ Hiro, Dilip (2013). Iran Under the Ayatollahs (Routledge Revivals). Routledge. p. 128. ISBN 978-1135043810.
  19. ^ Maziar, Behrooz (2000). Rebels with a Cause: The Failure of the Left in Iran. I.B.Tauris. p. 109. ISBN 1860646301.
  20. ^ a b Romano, David (2006). The Kurdish Nationalist Movement: Opportunity, Mobilization and Identity. Cambridge Middle East studies, 22. Cambridge University Press. p. 236. ISBN 978-0-521-85041-4. OCLC 61425259.
  21. ^ "Referenda", The Iran Social Science Data Portal, Princeton University, retrieved 10 August 2016
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