A referendum on establishing an Islamic republic was held in Iran on 30 and 31 March 1979. It took place in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, which led to the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty on 11 February 1979 and the rise of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as Iran's de facto leader. Voters were asked whether the country should be transformed into an "Islamic Republic", to replace the outgoing Imperial State. The proposal was approved by an overwhelming majority, although the result was marred by boycotts and disputes over electoral interference.
Following the referendum, the Persian Constitution of 1906 was declared invalid, and a new constitution based on Sharia law and the doctrine of velayat-e-faqih was drafted and ratified by a further referendum on 3 December 1979.
Voting process Voters were given a three-part ballot, two of which (the "Yes" and "No" sections) contained the following statement:
In order to include Iranian youth who participated in the revolution, the voting age was lowered from 18 to 16.
Results The measure to transform Iran into an "Islamic Republic" was approved by 98.2% of eligible voters. A high voter turnout was reported nationwide, except in Turkmen Sahra and Kurdistan, where the referendum was not fully held due to ongoing armed conflicts.
Dispute over legitimacy Ahead of the referendum, the Interim Government of Iran invited a four-man delegation from International Association of Democratic Lawyers to monitor the voting process. Nuri Albala, a French member of the delegation, told The New York Times that "there were no booths, and voting was done in the presence of Islamic officials, often amid dozens of posters calling for a yes vote. There were many reports of polling officers tearing off the green‐colored "yes" portions of the ballots and stuffing them in the boxes on behalf of the voters...A number of young voters told reporters that they were afraid to openly vote no in the presence of so many others who felt otherwise". Similarly, a report by The Washington Post noted that polling places lacked private booths, and that the color-coded ballots could clearly be seen by the polling officers, prompting the head of the delegation to state that "this is not the way we do things in the West, and it does not meet our criteria of democracy". However, Michael Axworthy, author of Revolutionary Iran: A History of the Islamic Republic, states that "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", namely the end of the monarchy.
Numerous political parties, such as the National Democratic Front and the People's Fedai Guerrillas, boycotted both participation in and the results of the referendum. The People's Mojahedin Organization, the Tudeh Party, the Freedom Movement, the National Front, and the Muslim People's Republican Party, while approving the referendum, "objected to the imposition of Khomeini's choice".
Party policies Position Organizations RefIslamic Republican PartyNational FrontFreedom MovementTudeh PartyPeople's Mojahedin OrganizationMuslim People's Republic PartyToilers PartyIran PartyPan-Iranist PartyNation PartyNational Democratic FrontOrganization of People's Fedai GuerrillasPeople's Fedai GuerrillasPeykarDemocratic Party of Iranian KurdistanKomala Party of Iranian Kurdistan
Statistics ChoiceVotes%For20,147,85599.3Against140,9960.7Valid Votes20,288,851100Source: Nohlen et al ChoiceVotesNumber of Eligible Voters20,857,391Number of Actual Voters20,440,108Voter Turnout98%Source: Iran Social Science Data Portal
Results by province Province Votes Proportion of votes 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% Kurdistan 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
See also Iranian Islamic Republic Day 1979 Iranian constitutional referendum
References
External links "Sadeq Tabatabaei shows voters how to cast their ballot in Islamic Republic referendum" (YouTube Video)