Parliamentary elections were held in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in 1952 to elect the 17th Iranian Majlis.

Conduct

The elections were held by Government of Mosaddegh, who championed

free elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...

and tried to minimize fraud by changing several governor-generals and governors. He also ordered members of the electoral supervisory councils to be selected by lot. However, the government was unable to control the shah, '' Artesh'', the notables, and some of its own supporters. The voting process was stopped by Prime Minister

Mohammad Mosaddegh Mohammad Mosaddegh ( fa, محمد مصدق, ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 35th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, after appointment by the 16th Majlis. He was a member of ...

after enough MPs were elected to form a parliamentary

quorum A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

(79 out of 136). The decision is viewed as manipulation, because Mosaddegh meant to prevent opposition candidates taking seat from rural areas.

Richard Cottam Richard W. Cottam (1924–1997) was an American political scientist, Iranist and a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative in Iran. Cottam was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

describes the elections as "relatively free".

Results

The highly organized

Tudeh Party The Tudeh Party of Iran ( fa-at, حزب تودۀ ایران, Ḥezb-e Tūde-ye Īrān, lit=Party of the Masses of Iran) is an Iranian communist party. Formed in 1941, with Soleiman Mirza Eskandari as its head, it had considerable influence in i ...

failed to win a single seat, despite receiving the second-highest number of votes. In

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, the turnout was double that of previous election and the National Front candidates, including members of

Iran Party The Iran Party ( fa, حزب ایران, Ḥezb-e Irān) is a socialist and nationalist party in Iran, founded in 1941. It is described as the "backbone of the National Front", the leading umbrella organization of Iranian nationalists established i ...

, Toilers Party, Muslim Mojahedin and non-partisan nationalists won all twelve seats. In

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...

, the nine deputies elected were supporters of Mossadegh. According to David McDowall, in

Mahabad Mahabad ( fa, مهاباد, ku, مەهاباد, translit=Mehabad), also Romanized as Mihābād and Muhābād and formerly known as Savojbolagh, is a city and capital of Mahabad County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its ...

the candidate known to be a Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan member was overwhelmingly elected but the results were annulled. However, Denise Natali states that the candidate was named Vaziri, who belonged to

. Royalist cleric

Hassan Emami Sayyid Hassan Emami ( fa, سید حسن امامی) was an Iranian Shia cleric and royalist politician. He worked as a judge in the Ministry of Justice and taught law at University of Tehran. He was regarded as a member of the Mohammad Reza Sha ...

eventually took office representing the constituency and was elected as Speaker of the parliament. A CIA document states that the Shah was behind his election.

U.S. interference

Historian

Ervand Abrahamian Ervand Abrahamian; hy, Երուանդ Աբրահամեան (born 1940) is an Iranian-American historian of the Middle East. He is Distinguished Professor of History at Baruch College and the Graduate Center, CUNY, Graduate Center of the City Un ...

, in an interview with ''

Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...

'', said U.S. State Department documents declassified in 2017 reveal that their strategy was to undermine

through parliament and the U.S.

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

(CIA) spent lot of money to get their 18 favorable candidates elected.

References

1952 elections in Asia 1952 in Iran National Consultative Assembly elections CIA activities in Iran Foreign electoral intervention 17th term of the Iranian Majlis Lower house elections in Iran {{Iran-election-stub