Iranian legislative election, 1996

Last updated
Iranian legislative election, 1996
Flag of Iran.svg
←  1992 8 March and 19 April 1996 2000  →
All 270 seats of Islamic Consultative Assembly
135 seats needed for a majority
Registered 24,716,692 [1]
Turnout 71.10% [1]

 Majority partyMinority partyThird party
  Karbaschi.jpg Officials met with the Supreme leader of Iran - October 11, 2006 -Mehdi Karroubi (Cropped).jpg
Leader Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani Gholamhossein Karbaschi Mehdi Karoubi
Party Combatant Clergy Association
and allies		 Executives of Construction
and allies		 Association of Combatant Clerics
and allies
Leader's seatDid not standDid not standDid not stand
Seats won90≈15060≈8030≈80
Speaker before election

Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri
CCA

Elected Speaker

Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri
CCA

Parliamentary elections were held in Iran on 8 March 1996, with a second round on 19 April. [2] The Combatant Clergy Association and its allies emerged as the largest bloc in the Majlis, winning 110 of the 270 seats. [2]

Iran Country in Western Asia

Iran, also called Persia, and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a country in Western Asia. With over 81 million inhabitants, Iran is the world's 18th most populous country. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), it is the second largest country in the Middle East and the 17th largest in the world. Iran is bordered to the northwest by Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, to the north by the Caspian Sea, to the northeast by Turkmenistan, to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and to the west by Turkey and Iraq. The country's central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, give it geostrategic importance. Tehran is the country's capital and largest city, as well as its leading economic and cultural center.

Combatant Clergy Association

The Combatant Clergy Association is a politically active group in Iran, but not a political party in the traditional sense.

Contents

Electoral system

The constitution approved in a December 1979 referendum provided for a 270-seat Majlis, with five seats reserved for minority groups including Jews, Zorastrians, Armenians from the north and south of the country and one jointly elected by Assyrians and Chaldeans. [3]

Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran National constitutional law

The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran was adopted by referendum on 2 and 3 December 1979, and went into force replacing the Constitution of 1906. It was amended on 28 July 1989. The constitution has been called a "hybrid" of "theocratic and democratic elements". While articles One and Two vest sovereignty in God, article six "mandates popular elections for the presidency and the Majlis, or parliament." However main democratic procedures and rights are subordinate to the Guardian Council and the Supreme Leader, whose powers are spelled out in Chapter Eight.

Persian Jews

Persian Jews or Iranian Jews are Jews historically associated with the Persian Empire, whose successor state is Iran. The Biblical Book of Esther contains references to the experiences of the Jews in Persia. Jews have had a continuous presence in Iran since the time of Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid Empire. Cyrus invaded Babylon and freed the Jews from Babylonian captivity.

The elections were conducted using a two-round system, with the number of candidates progressing to the second round being double the number of seats available. Candidates required an absolute majority to win a seat in the first round, and plurality to win in the second round. [3]

Two-round system voting system used to elect a single winner where a second round of voting is used if no candidate wins an absolute majority in the first round

The two-round system is a voting method used to elect a single winner, where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate. However, if no candidate receives the required number of votes, then those candidates having less than a certain proportion of the votes, or all but the two candidates receiving the most votes, are eliminated, and a second round of voting is held.

Campaign

A total of 3,726 candidates contested the elections, including around 326 women. [3] 145 seats were won in the first round of voting. [4]

Main groups contesting in the elections were: [5]

Front of Followers of the Line of the Imam and the Leader

Front of Followers of the Line of the Imam and the Leader, formerly known as Islamic Aligned Organizations is a Coalition of Iranian Principlist political groups. The group which consists of a wide range of traditional conservative parties, is active since administration of Mohammad Khatami, and is aligned with The two Societies.

Executives of Construction Party political party in Iran

The Executives of Construction of Iran Party is a reformist political party in Iran, founded by 16 members of the cabinet of the then President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in 1996. The party is a member of Council for coordinating the Reforms Front.

Association for Defence of Islamic Revolution Values was a neo-principlist political party in Iran, founded by Mohammad Reyshahri. The party was defeated in the 1996 parliamentary and the 1997 presidential elections.

15 Freedom Movement members presented themselves as candidates and only 4 of them made it through initial vetting, 3 of whom were excluded before polling day. The organization announced its intention to withdraw from the election. The election was boycotted by the National Front and Nation Party. [6]

Freedom Movement of Iran

The Freedom Movement of Iran (FMI) or Liberation Movement of Iran is an Iranian pro-democracy political organization founded in 1961, by members describing themselves as "Muslims, Iranians, Constitutionalists and Mossadeghists". It is the oldest party still active in Iran and has been described as a "semi-opposition" or "loyal opposition" party. It has also been described as a "religious nationalist party".

National Front (Iran) political opposition party in Iran

The National Front of Iran is an opposition political organization in Iran, founded by Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1949. It is the oldest and arguably the largest pro-democracy group operating inside Iran despite having never been able to recover the prominence it had in the early 1950s.

Party of the Iranian Nation or Nation Party of Iran or Iran Nation Party is an opposition party in Iran seeking to establish a secular democracy. Like the rest of the opposition parties, this party is presently banned from public activity in Iran, under the Islamic Regime.

Results

Both conservatives and reformers claimed a 70 percent majority after the first round and also claimed independents as supporters. [7]

Salam newspaper

According to Salam , Executives of Construction and Imam's Line Groups won shared 120 parliamentary seats. [8]

Adelkhah (1999)
FactionSeats
Right 90 to 100
Executives of Construction 70 to 80
Left about 40
Source: Adelkhah [9]
Nohlen et al (2001)
In the following table, the Independents are counted as "allies".
PartySeats+/–
Combatant Clergy Association and allies110–40
Combatant Clerics of Tehran and allies80+80
Executives of Construction Party and allies80New
Total2700
Source: Nohlen et al. [2]
Kazemzadeh (2008)
FactionSeats
Right-wing hardliners 150
Rafsanjani and Executives of Construction 15–60
Left-wing coalition of Imam's Line 30
Independents30
Total270
Source: Kazemzadeh [10]

Aftermath

The newly elected Majlis met for the first time on 1 June. [4]

Related Research Articles

Social Democratic Party (Andorra) political party in Andorra

The Social Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Andorra.

2004 Iranian legislative election election

The Iranian parliamentary elections of February 20 and May 7, 2004 were a victory for Islamic conservatives over the reformist parties. Assisting the conservative victory was the disqualification of about 2500 reformist candidates earlier in January.

1997 Chadian parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Chad on 5 January 1997, with a second round on 23 February. They were the first multi-party elections since independence in 1960 and resulted in a victory for the ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS), which won 65 of the 124 seats in the National Assembly. However, the elections were marred by electoral fraud widespread vote rigging, and local irregularities marred these elections, as the 1996 presidential elections. Voter turnout was 45.6% in the first round and 45.3% in the second.

Parliamentary elections were held in Iran on 18 February 2000, with a second round on 5 May. The result was a solid victory for 2nd of Khordad Front and its allies, the reformist supporters of President Mohammad Khatami.

Parliamentary elections were held in the Maldives on 22 January 2005. At the time of the elections political parties were banned, so all candidates ran as independents. Supporters of President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom emerged as the largest group in the People's Majlis.

1975 Iranian legislative election

Parliamentary elections were held in Iran on 20 June 1975. All 268 seats were won by the new monarchist party, the Rastakhiz Party. Voter turnout was 48.6%, although according to official reports, for both houses, out of an electorate of 14 million, 70 percent registered to vote and 52 percent of the electorate cast its vote.

2008 Iranian legislative election elections for the 8th Islamic Consultative Assembly

Legislative elections for Majlis of Iran were held on 14 March 2008, with a second round held on 25 April 2008. Conservatives loyal to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were considered the victors of the election, at least in part because "all the most prominent" reformist candidates were disqualified from running.

1980 Iranian legislative election

Parliamentary elections were held in Iran on 13 March 1980, with a second round on 9 May. They were the first elections to the Majlis since the overthrow of the Shah, and were contested to a considerable degree on a party basis.

1988 Iranian legislative election

Parliamentary elections were held in Iran on 8 April 1988, with a second round on 13 May. The result was a victory for leftist politicians who later emerged as reformists. The number of clerics elected to the Majlis was reduced by over a third.

1992 Iranian legislative election

Parliamentary elections were held in Iran on 10 April 1992, with a second round on 8 May. The elections were the first parliamentary elections held in Iran since the death of Ayatollah Khomeini and during Ali Khamenei's leadership.

1952 Iranian legislative election

Parliamentary elections were held in Iran in 1952 to elect the 17th Iranian Majlis.

1967 Iranian legislative election

Parliamentary elections were held in Iran on 4 August 1967. The result was a victory for the New Iran Party, which won 180 of the 219 seats in the Majlis. Voter turnout was around 35%.

1971 Iranian legislative election

Parliamentary elections were held in Iran on 9 July 1971. The result was a victory for the New Iran Party, which won 230 of the 268 seats in the Majlis and 28 of the 30 elected seats in the Senate. Voter turnout was around 35%. The elections were boycotted by the Pan-Iranist Party, which complained that the government held a monopoly over campaign broadcasts on state radio and television, and also claimed that its newspaper had been censored. Its offshoot, Iranians' Party, won a seat by its secretary-general.

1861 Italian general election

General elections were held in Italy on 27 January 1861, with a second round on 3 February. The newly elected Parliament first convened in Turin on 4 March 1861, where, thirteen days later, it declared the unification of the country as the Kingdom of Italy.

1865 Italian general election

General elections were held in Italy on 22 October 1865, with a second round of voting on 29 October. It was the second one in the history of Italy.

1882 Italian general election

General elections were held in Italy on 29 October 1882, with a second round of voting on 5 November. The "ministerial" left-wing bloc emerged as the largest in Parliament, winning 289 of the 508 seats.

Belarusian Peasant Party

The Belarusian Peasant Party was a right-wing liberal political party in Belarus.

The Belarusian Patriotic Party is a political party in Belarus loyal to President Alexander Lukashenko. Nikolai Ulakhovich is party chairman.

2014 Maldivian parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in the Maldives on 22 March 2014. The Progressive Party of Maldives and its allies won 53 seats.

References

  1. 1 2 "1996 Parliamentary Election", The Iran Social Science Data Portal, Princeton University, retrieved 10 August 2015
  2. 1 2 3 Nohlen, Dieter; Grotz, Florian; Hartmann, Christof (2001). "Iran". Elections in Asia: A Data Handbook. I. Oxford University Press. pp. 68, 74. ISBN   0-19-924958-X.
  3. 1 2 3 Iran IPU
  4. 1 2 Elections held in 1996 IPU
  5. ↑ Beheshti, Ebrahim (4 January 2016) [14 Dey 1394]. "گزارش "ایران" از صف‌آرایی گروه‌های سیاسی در ۹ دوره انتخابات مجلس" (in Persian) (6116). Iran. 109221. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  6. ↑ "IRAN", Human Rights Watch World Report 1997: Events of 1996, Human Rights Watch, 1996, p. 282, ISBN   9781564322074
  7. ↑ Guy Engelman (2 February 2000), "A Background to Iran's Forthcoming Majlis Elections", The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (PolicyWatch) (436), retrieved 29 August 2017
  8. ↑ Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Iran: The National Kargozaran-Sazandegi Party; political view, its leaders, branches, and participation in any election in Iran (1998), 19 February 2002, IRN38586.E, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be498.html [accessed 10 June 2016]
  9. ↑ Fariba Adelkhah (1999), Being Modern in Iran, CERI series in comparative politics and international studies, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, p. 85
  10. ↑ Masoud Kazemzadeh (2008), "Intra-Elite Factionalism and the 2004 Majles Elections in Iran", Middle Eastern Studies, 44 (2): 189–214, doi:10.1080/00263200701874867 – via Taylor and Francis Online (subscription required)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.