Iranian parliamentary dissolution referendum, 1953

Last updated
Iranian 1953 referendum
Dissolution or Continuation of the 17th National Consultative Assembly
Location Iran
Date3 and 10 August 1953
Results
Votes%
Yes check.svgYes2,043,38999.94%
X mark.svgNo1,2070.06%
Valid votes2,044,596100.00%
Invalid or blank votes40.00%
Total votes2,044,600100.00%

A referendum on the dissolution of Parliament , the first referendum ever held in Iran, was held in August 1953. The dissolution was approved by more than 99% of voters.

In parliamentary and some semi-presidential systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election.

A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is invited to vote on a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new law. In some countries, it is synonymous with a plebiscite or a vote on a ballot question.

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.

Contents

Following the referendum, there were talks about another referendum to abolish the Pahlavi dynasty and make Iran a republic, however the government was overthrown by a coup d'état shortly after. [1] [2]

Pahlavi dynasty Dynasty that ruled Iran from 1925 until 1979

The Pahlavi dynasty was the last ruling house of the Imperial State of Iran from 1925 until 1979, when the Monarchy of Iran was overthrown and abolished as a result of the Iranian Revolution. The dynasty was founded by Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1925, a former brigadier-general of the Persian Cossack Brigade, whose reign lasted until 1941 when he was forced to abdicate by the Allies after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. He was succeeded by his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. According to Reza Shah, He named Agha Ameri the successor to his dynasty if it fell.

A republic is a form of government in which the country is considered a “public matter”, not the private concern or property of the rulers. The primary positions of power within a republic are not inherited, but are attained through democracy, oligarchy or autocracy. It is a form of government under which the head of state is not a hereditary monarch.

1953 Iranian coup détat overthrow of the democratically elected government of Iran

The 1953 Iranian coup d'état, known in Iran as the 28 Mordad coup d'état, was the overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in favour of strengthening the monarchical rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi on 19 August 1953, orchestrated by the United Kingdom and the United States, and the first United States covert action to overthrow a foreign government during peacetime.

Timeline

Mohammad Mosaddegh Prime Minister of Iran in the 1950s

Mohammad Mosaddegh was the 35th prime minister of Iran, holding office from 1951 until 1953, when his government was overthrown in a coup d'état orchestrated by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency and the United Kingdom's MI6.

Governments of Mohammad Mosaddegh

The premiership of Mohammad Mosaddegh began when his first government was formed on 28 April 1951 and ended on 19 August 1953, when his second government was overthrown by the American–British backed coup d'état. During the time, the two cabinets of Mosaddegh took control except for a brief period between 16 and 21 July 1952, in which Ahmad Qavam was the Prime Minister, taking office due to resignation of Mosaddegh from premiership and deposed by Shah after five days of mass demonstrations.

17th Iranian Majlis

The 17th Iranian Majlis was a legislative assembly with a term beginning on Apr, 25, 1952.

Campaign

PositionOrganizationRef
Yes
 Iran Party [2]
Iranian People Party [2]
Tudeh Party [2]
Pan-Iranist Party [2]
Nation Party [2]
Third Force [6]
Boycott
 Toilers Party [2]
Muslim Warriors [2]

Conduct

The balloting was not secret and there were two separate voting booths, i.e. the opponents of Mossadegh had to cast their vote in a separate tent. [7] [1] Critics pointed that the referendum had ignored the democratic demand for secret ballots. [8]

Secret ballot voting style that makes each vote anonymous

The secret ballot, also known as Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous, forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote buying. The system is one means of achieving the goal of political privacy.

Results

ChoiceVotes%
For2,043,38999.94
Against1,2070.06
Invalid/blank votes4–
Total2,044,600100
Source: Direct Demoracy

By city

CityYesNo
Tehran [9] 101,39667
Tabriz [10] 41,5023
Isfahan [10] 43,50511
Ahvaz [10] 22,7712
Mashhad [10] 26,5479

Reactions

Domestic

International

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Tudeh Party of Iran Iranian communist party

The Tudeh Party of Iran is an Iranian communist party. Formed in 1941, with Soleiman Mohsen Eskandari as its head, it had considerable influence in its early years and played an important role during Mohammad Mosaddegh's campaign to nationalize the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and his term as prime minister. The crackdown that followed the 1953 coup against Mosaddegh is said to have "destroyed" the party, although it continued. The party still exists, but has remained much weaker as a result of its banning in Iran and mass arrests by the Islamic Republic in 1982, as well as the executions of political prisoners in 1988.

<i>The New York Times</i> Daily broadsheet newspaper based in New York City

The New York Times is an American newspaper based in New York City with worldwide influence and readership. Founded in 1851, the paper has won 125 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper. The Times is ranked 17th in the world by circulation and 2nd in the U.S.

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References

  1. 1 2 Elton L. Daniel (2012). The History of Iran. ABC-CLIO. p. 154. ISBN   978-0313375095.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Siavush Randjbar-Daemi (2017). ""Down with the Monarchy": Iran's Republican Moment of August 1953". Iranian Studies. 50 (2): 293–313. doi:10.1080/00210862.2016.1229120. hdl:10023/13868.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Rahnema, Ali (2014), Behind the 1953 Coup in Iran: Thugs, Turncoats, Soldiers, and Spooks, Cambridge University Press, p. 287, ISBN   978-1107076068
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Ebrahimi, Mansoureh (2016). "Dr. Mosaddeq's pre-emptive Measures". The British Role in Iranian Domestic Politics (1951-1953). SpringerBriefs in Environment, Security, Development and Peace. 5. Springer. p. 95–97. ISBN   9783319310985.
  5. ↑ Bayandor, Darioush (2010). Iran and the CIA: The Fall of Mosaddeq Revisited. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 215. ISBN   978-0-230-57927-9.
  6. ↑ Katouzian, Homa (2013). Iran: Politics, History and Literature. Routledge. p. 84. ISBN   9780415636896.
  7. ↑ Majd, Mohammad Gholi (2000), Resistance to the Shah: Landowners and Ulama in Iran, University Press of Florida, pp. 260–261, ISBN   978-0813017310
  8. ↑ Milani, Abbas (2008). Eminent Persians: The Men and Women who Made Modern Iran, 1941-1979. 1. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press. p. 243. ISBN   978-0815609070.
  9. ↑ Abrahamian, Ervand (1982). Iran Between Two Revolutions. Princeton University Press. p. 274. ISBN   978-0-691-10134-7.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Mervyn Roberts (2012). "Analysis of Radio Propaganda in the 1953 Iran Coup". Iranian Studies. 45 (6): 759–777. doi:10.1080/00210862.2012.726848.
  11. ↑ Bayandor, Darioush (2010). Iran and the CIA: The Fall of Mosaddeq Revisited. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 89. ISBN   978-0-230-57927-9.
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