1963 Iranian referendum

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White Revolution referendum
State flag of Iran (1933-1964).svg
26 January 1963 (1963-01-26)
"White Revolution of the Shah and the People": [1]
  1. Abolition of the landowner–tenant system by land reform
  2. Nationalization of forests and pastures
  3. Sale of government factories for the purpose of financing land reform
  4. Making workers shareholders of factories they worked in
  5. Reform of electoral laws
  6. Creation of the Literacy Corps
Results
Choice
Votes%
Check-71-128-204-brightblue.svgYes5,589,71199.93%
Light brown x.svgNo4,1150.07%
Valid votes5,593,826100.00%
Invalid or blank votes00.00%
Total votes5,593,826100.00%
Registered voters/turnout6,098,27791.73%
271,179 announced additional votes cast by women were counted separately but not considered in the official results [2]
Women voting in the referendum Womenelection1963.jpg
Women voting in the referendum

A referendum was held in Iran on 26 January 1963 by the decree of Mohammad Reza Shah, with an aim to show popular support for him, asking voters to approve or veto the reforms of the White Revolution. [3]

Contents

Women were not officially allowed to vote, but were set up to vote at their own balloting counters and dedicated boxes, at the suggestion of Ministry of Agriculture Hasan Arsanjani. The results gave Iranian women the right to vote. [4]

Criticism

Despite the apparent benign nature of the proposals in the referendum, there was significant opposition. [5] Opponents included major landowners, ulema and communists. [3]

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for boycotting the referendum as "un-Islamic". [6]

National Front boycotted the referendum, criticizing that the measures did not come from the parliament. [5]

Voters were asked six questions, but had only the option to vote yes or no to the total package. [7]

The ballots for 'Yes' were white, while the negative ones were green. [2]

Similar to the previous referendum, polling places lacked secrecy and there were two separate voting booths: one for the supporters and one for the opponents. "No sane man would enter the opposition booth", according to Mohammad Gholi Majd. [1]

Party policies

PositionOrganizationRef
Yes
 Nationalists’ Party
People's Party
Pan-Iranist Party
Boycott
 National Front [5]
Freedom Movement [8]

Results

ChoiceVotes%
For5,589,71199.9
Against4,1150.1
Abstain00
Total votes5,593,826100
Registered voters6,098,277—
Source: Nohlen et al. [7] and Zonis [9]

Aftermath

Following the referendum, dissension and riots broke out in almost all major urban areas, most significantly in Tehran and Qom. The Shah gave orders for the immediate suppression of the opposition. The National Front, the Freedom Movement, the Tudeh Party, as well as religious activists were imprisoned. [9] The unrest made Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini the regime's principal opponent in the minds of many Iranians. [6]

References

  1. 1 2 Majd, Mohammad Gholi (2000), Resistance to the Shah: Landowners and Ulama in Iran, University Press of Florida, pp. 260–261, ISBN   978-0813017310
  2. 1 2 E. A. Bayne (1965), Four Ways of Politics: State and Nation in Italy, Somalia, Israel, Iran: The Dynamics of Political Participation as Exhibited in Four Countries Caught Up in the Process of Modernization, American Universities Field Staff, p. 260
  3. 1 2 Lloyd Ridgeon (2005). Religion and Politics in Modern Iran: A Reader. I.B.Tauris. p. 173. ISBN   978-1-84511-073-4.
  4. ↑ Lois Beck; Guity Nashat, eds. (2004). Women in Iran from 1800 to the Islamic Republic. University of Illinois Press. p. 139. ISBN   978-0-252-07189-8.
  5. 1 2 3 Elton L. Daniel (2012). The History of Iran. ABC-CLIO. p. 157. ISBN   978-0313375095.
  6. 1 2 Edward Willett (2003). Ayatollah Khomeini. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 42. ISBN   9780823944651.
  7. 1 2 Nohlen, Dieter; Grotz, Florian; Hartmann, Christof (2001). "Iran". Elections in Asia: A Data Handbook. Vol. I. Oxford University Press. p. 72. ISBN   978-0-19-924958-9.
  8. ↑ Hiro, Dilip (2013). Iran Under the Ayatollahs (Routledge Revivals). Routledge. p. 104. ISBN   978-1135043810.
  9. 1 2 Marvin Zonis (2015). Political Elite of Iran. Princeton University Press. pp. 75–77. ISBN   9781400868803.
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