A referendum on creating an

Islamic Republic The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a theoretical form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been u ...

was held in Iran on 30 and 31 March 1979. Although some groups objected to the wording and choice and boycotted the referendum, it was approved by 98.2% of eligible citizens, according to official results. No group campaigned for a no vote in the referendum. In order to include the Iranian youth who participated in the revolution, the voting age was lowered from 18 to 16. Following this victory, the 1906 constitution was declared invalid and a new constitution for an Islamic state was created and ratified by another referendum in December 1979.

Party policies

Alternative wordings proposed

When the authorities were preparing to prescribe a name for future political system, the parties called for a referendum open to give third choices, other than monarchy and

. Some of the names suggested were: * "Islamic Republic of Iran", by Islamic Republican Party * "People's Republic of Iran", by leftists * "Democratic Republic of Iran", by leftists * "Democratic Islamic Republic of Iran", by Freedom Movement of Iran * "Republic of Iran", by secular nationalists

Voting

Iranian Islamic Republic referendum, March 1979

The

Interim Government of Iran The Interim Government of Iran ( fa, دولت موقت ايران, Dowlat-e Movaqat-e Irân) was the first government established in Iran after the Iranian Revolution. The regime was headed by Mehdi Bazargan, one of the members of the Freedo ...

invited a four-man delegation of international jurists from International Association of Democratic Lawyers to monitor the voting. According to '' The Washington Post'', polling places lacked voting booths and the colored ballots could clearly be seen by observers, quoting head of the delegation "this is not the way we do things in the West, and it does not meet our criteria of democracy". Sadegh Zibakalam describes the referendum as "free and fair".

Michael Axworthy Michael George Andrew Axworthy (26 September 1962 – 16 March 2019) was a British academic, author, and commentator. He was the head of the Iran section at the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office between 1998 and 2000. Personal life and fam ...

states "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". A huge voter turnout was reported nationwide, except for Turkmen Sahra and Iranian Kurdistan, where the referendum was not held in full due to ongoing armed conflicts.

Results

Results by province

References

External links

Sadeq Tabatabaei shows voters how to cast their ballot in Islamic Republic referendum
{{Ruhollah Khomeini 1979 03 History of the Islamic Republic of Iran Iran 1979 in Iran Aftermath of the Iranian Revolution

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

March 1979 events in Asia Ruhollah Khomeini Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran