1979 Iranian constitutional referendum

1979 Iranian constitutional referendum

2–3 December 1979
Do you approve the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran?
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 15,680,329 99.50% No 78,516 0.50% Valid votes 15,758,845 100.00% Invalid or blank votes 111 0.00% Total votes 15,758,956 100.00%

Referendum ballot

A constitutional referendum was held in Iran on 2 and 3 December 1979, in which the new Islamic constitution was approved by 99.5% of voters. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Background

Path to an Islamic Republic

In 1907, a supplement to Iran's constitution was adopted accommodating aspects of European constitutional law that conflicted with Shia doctrine, without developing distinctly Islamic fundamental laws. ^[4] In March 1979 the Pahlavi dynasty was overthrown and an Islamic republic was established following the Iranian Islamic Republic referendum. ^[5] On 1 April 1979, Imam Khomeini declared the end of the 2,500-year-old monarchy, announcing the first day of a "Government of God" and emphasizing the need to ratify a new constitution^{[ citation needed ]}.

Drafting the constitution

On 12 January 1979, an election for the Assembly of Experts was held, with Ayatollah Khomeini encouraging Iranians to choose their representatives. The Assembly, functioning as a constituent assembly, commenced its activities on 3–4 August 1979 with 72 representatives from across Iran. During these proceedings, Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani conveyed Khomeini's message that the "Constitution and other laws in this Republic must be based one hundred per cent on Islam." ^[6] The Assembly continued its deliberations until 15 November 1979, with the new constitution ultimately receiving approval from at least two-thirds of its representatives. ^[6] In June 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini made minor adjustments to the draft and stipulated that it be subjected to a referendum. ^[4]

Organisation of the referendum

The referendum was held by the Council of the Islamic Revolution, as Bazargan's Interim Government—which had overseen the previous referendum—had resigned in protest over the U.S. Embassy hostage crisis. ^[7] The day before the vote, during the mourning of Ashura , Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini declared that those who did not vote would be helping Americans and desecrating Shohada (Martyrs). ^[8]

The proposed constitution

The new constitution codified Iran's governance according to Shia Islam and included an appendix citing verses of the Quran and religious traditions in support of its articles. Its principal provisions would make Iran an Islamic republic, introduce direct elections for the presidency, create a unicameral parliament, and require any constitutional changes to go to a referendum. ^[9]

Among the most significant structural changes was a new chapter on leadership replacing the former chapter on monarchy, along with new chapters on foreign policy and mass media. Several articles from the previous constitution were preserved, including equality before the law (Articles 19–20); guarantees of the security of life, property, honour, and domicile (Articles 22, 39); freedom of opinion and choice of profession (Articles 23, 28); rights to due process (Articles 32–36) and to the privacy of communications (Article 25); and provisions governing public deliberations of the Majlis, parliamentary procedure, and the rights and responsibilities of ministers (Articles 69, 70, 74, 88–90). ^[4]

Campaign

Supporters

The Islamic Republican Party backed a yes vote, as did the communist Tudeh Party of Iran, which expressed its support for "Imam's line". ^[10] The Freedom Movement of Iran also urged a yes vote, arguing that the alternative was anarchy. ^[8]

Boycott

A broad coalition of opposition groups called for a boycott of the referendum, including leftists, secular nationalists, Islamist followers of Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari, and the prominent opposition group People's Mojahedin Organization (PMOI). ^[8] As a result of the boycott, turnout among Sunni minorities in Kurdistan and Sistan and Baluchestan Provinces, as well as in Shariatmadari's home region of Azerbaijan, was low, and the total number of votes fell compared to the March referendum. Historian Ervand Abrahamian estimates that nearly 17% of the population did not support the constitution. ^[11]

Party positions

Position	Organizations	Ref
Yes
	Islamic Republican Party	[8]
	Freedom Movement	[12]
	Tudeh Party	[10]
Boycott	National Front	[13]
	National Democratic Front
	Muslim People's Republic Party	[14]
	People's Mojahedin Organization	[8]
	People's Fedai (Majority)	[8]
	People's Fedai (Minority)	[8]
	People's Fedai Guerrillas	[8]
	Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan	[15]
	Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan	[15]

Results

Choice	Votes	%
For	15,680,329	99.50
Against	78,516	0.50
Invalid/blank votes	111	–
Total	15,758,956	100
Registered voters	~22,000,000
Source: Nohlen et al. [3]

References

1. Mahmood T. Davari (1 October 2004). The Political Thought of Ayatollah Murtaza Mutahhari: An Iranian Theoretician of the Islamic State. Routledge. p. 138. ISBN   978-1-134-29488-6.
2. The Middle East and North Africa 2003. Psychology Press. 31 October 2002. p. 414. ISBN   978-1-85743-132-2.
3. Nohlen, Dieter; Grotz, Florian; Hartmann, Christof (2001). "Iran". Elections in Asia: A Data Handbook. Vol. I. Oxford University Press. p. 72. ISBN   0-19-924958-X.
4. "Constitution of the Islamic Republic". Iranica Online.
5. Rehan J. Ali (2008). The Iranian Revolution of 1979: Theoretical Approaches and Economic Cause. p. 78.
6. Ramazani, Rouhollah K. (1980). "Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran". Middle East Journal. 34 (2). Middle East Institute: 181–204. JSTOR   4326018.
7. Gasiorowski, Mark (2016). "Islamic Republic of Iran". The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa. Westview Press. p. 279. ISBN   9780813349947.
8. Ervand Abrahamian (1989), Radical Islam: the Iranian Mojahedin, Society and culture in the modern Middle East, vol. 3, I.B.Tauris, p. 58, ISBN   9781850430773
9. Iran, 3 December 1979: Constitution Direct Democracy (in German)
10. Abdy Javadzadeh (2010), Iranian Irony: Marxists Becoming Muslims, Dorrance Publishing, p. 68, ISBN   9781434982926
11. Abrahamian, Ervand (2008). A History of Modern Iran . Cambridge University Press. p.  169. ISBN   978-0521528917.
12. Lynn Berat (1995). Between States: Interim Governments in Democratic Transitions. Cambridge University Press. p. 141. ISBN   978-0-521-48498-5.
13. Axworthy, Michael (2016), Revolutionary Iran: A History of the Islamic Republic, Oxford University Press, p. 170, ISBN   9780190468965
14. Katouzian, Homa; Hossein Shahidi (2008). Iran in the 21st Century: Politics, economics and conflict. Routledge. p. 55. ISBN   9781134077601.
15. Romano, David (2006). The Kurdish Nationalist Movement: Opportunity, Mobilization and Identity. Cambridge Middle East studies. Vol. 22. Cambridge University Press. p. 236. ISBN   978-0-521-85041-4. OCLC   61425259.