1979 Iranian Islamic Republic referendum

Islamic Republic referendum
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?
	The two-parts ballot of referendum, with the green paper indicating "Yes" and red paper indicating "No"
Results

Last updated March 12, 2024

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.

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

The Interim Government of Iran invited a four-man delegation of international jurists from International Association of Democratic Lawyers to monitor the voting.^[11] According to The Washington Post , polling places lacked 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
Province	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 ]}

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References

1 2 3 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.
1 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.
1 2 3 Hiro, Dilip (2013). Holy Wars (Routledge Revivals): The Rise of Islamic Fundamentalism. Routledge. p. 169. ISBN 978-1135048310.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Paydar, Parvin (1995). Women and the Political Process in Twentieth-Century Iran. Cambridge University Press. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-521-59572-8.
↑ 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.
1 2 3 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.
↑ 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.
↑ Hiro, Dilip (2013). Iran Under the Ayatollahs (Routledge Revivals). Routledge. p. 128. ISBN 978-1135043810.
↑ Maziar, Behrooz (2000). Rebels With A Cause: The Failure of the Left in Iran. I.B.Tauris. p. 109. ISBN 1860646301.
1 2 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.
↑ 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
↑ Ronald Koven (2 April 1979). "Khomeini Decrees Islamic Republic After Vote in Iran". The Washington Post . Retrieved 25 January 2017.
↑ Sadegh Zibakalam (2014). "To Rule or Not to Rule? An Alternative Look at the Political Life of Ayatollah Khomeini between 1960 and 1980". In Arshin Adib-Moghaddam (ed.). A Critical Introduction to Khomeini. Cambridge University Press. p. 272. ISBN 978-1-107-72906-3.
↑ Axworthy, Michael (2013), Revolutionary Iran: A History of the Islamic Republic, Oxford University Press, pp. 373–374
↑ "Landslide Victory for Khomeini Reported in Voting". The New York Times . 2 April 1979. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
↑ "Referenda", The Iran Social Science Data Portal, Princeton University, retrieved 10 August 2016

External links

"Sadeq Tabatabaei shows voters how to cast their ballot in Islamic Republic referendum" (YouTube Video)

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[OUP-1] 1 2 3 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.

[R-2] 1 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.

[R2-3] 1 2 3 Hiro, Dilip (2013). Holy Wars (Routledge Revivals): The Rise of Islamic Fundamentalism. Routledge. p. 169. ISBN 978-1135048310.

[CUP-4] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Paydar, Parvin (1995). Women and the Political Process in Twentieth-Century Iran. Cambridge University Press. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-521-59572-8.

[5] 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.

[UPF-6] 1 2 3 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.

[7] 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.

[8] Hiro, Dilip (2013). Iran Under the Ayatollahs (Routledge Revivals). Routledge. p. 128. ISBN 978-1135043810.

[9] Maziar, Behrooz (2000). Rebels With A Cause: The Failure of the Left in Iran. I.B.Tauris. p. 109. ISBN 1860646301.

[CUP2-10] 1 2 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.

[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] Sadegh Zibakalam (2014). "To Rule or Not to Rule? An Alternative Look at the Political Life of Ayatollah Khomeini between 1960 and 1980". In Arshin Adib-Moghaddam (ed.). A Critical Introduction to Khomeini. Cambridge University Press. p. 272. 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.

[IDP-16] "Referenda", The Iran Social Science Data Portal, Princeton University, retrieved 10 August 2016

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v t e Elections and referendums in Iran
Supreme Leader	1989 Next
Presidential	1980 1981 (Jul) 1981 (Oct) 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021
Parliamentary	1906 1909 1914 1921 1923 1926 1928 1930 1932 1935 1937 1939 1941 1943–44 1947 1950 1952 1954 1956 1960 1961 1963 1967 1971 1975 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Assembly of Experts	1982 1990 1998 2006 2016 2024
Senate	1949 1954 1960 1963 1967 1971 1975
Local	1968 1970 1972 1976 1979 1999 2003 2006 2013 2017 2021
Constituent	1925 1949 1967 1979
Referendums	1953 1963 1979 (Mar) 1979 (Dec) 1989
List of elections and referendums

v t e Ruhollah Khomeini
Politics	1963 demonstrations in Iran Life in exile 1978 Qom protest 1978 Tabriz protests Neauphle-le-Château Return to Iran Iranian Revolution Consolidation of the Iranian Revolution Cultural Revolution Supreme Council Council of the Islamic Revolution Islamic Revolutionary Court Interim Government 1979 Referendum Engagement with Jimmy Carter Iranian Revolution conspiracy theory America can't do a damn thing against us Supreme Leader of Iran Iran–Iraq War Israeli support The Satanic Verses controversy
Positions	American Islam Anti-Zionism Shiite clericalism Death to America Great Satan Little Satan Sex segregation compulsory hijab Islamic democracy Imam's Line Letter to Gorbachev Khomeini's 8-article command
Books	Islamic Government: Governance of the Jurist (Velayat-e faqih) Tahrir al-Wasilah Kashf al-Asrar Forty Hadith of Ruhullah Khomeini Islam and Revolution The Greatest Jihad
Family	Khadijeh Saqafi (wife) Mostafa Khomeini (son) Zahra Mostafavi Khomeini (daughter) Farideh Mostafavi Khomeini (daughter) Ahmad Khomeini (son) Hussein Khomeini (grandson) Hassan Khomeini (grandson) Zahra Eshraghi (granddaughter) Seyyed Ahmad Musavi Hindi (grandfather)
Related	Jamaran Hussainiya Mausoleum Death and state funeral Alef-Laam Khomeini Fajr decade Refah School Homafaran Allegiance Imam Khomeini International Airport Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order
Category