1953 Iranian parliamentary dissolution referendum
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Dissolution or Continuation of the 17th National Consultative Assembly | |||||||||||||||||||
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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.
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]
Timeline
[edit]- 12 July: PM Mohammad Mosaddegh openly announced his intention to hold the referendum,[3] asking people to either choose between his government or the 17th Parliament.[4]
- 14 July: The decision to hold the referendum was approved by the cabinet.[3]
- 3 August: The referendum was held in Tehran.[4]
- 10 August: The referendum was held in other cities.[4]
- 13 August: The official results of the polls were declared by the interior ministry.[3]
- 16 August: Mosaddegh officially announced the dissolution of the parliament.[5]
- 19 August: The government was overthrown in a coup d'état.[3]
Campaign
[edit]| Position | Organization | Ref |
|---|---|---|
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
[edit]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]
Results
[edit]| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| For | 2,043,389 | 99.94 |
| Against | 1,207 | 0.06 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 4 | – |
| Total | 2,044,600 | 100 |
| Source: Direct Democracy | ||
By city
[edit]| City | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Tehran[9] | 101,396 | 67 |
| Tabriz[10] | 41,502 | 3 |
| Isfahan[10] | 43,505 | 11 |
| Ahvaz[10] | 22,771 | 2 |
| Mashhad[10] | 26,547 | 9 |
Reactions
[edit]Domestic
[edit]- Ayatollah Kashani said taking part in such a referendum is haraam (religiously prohibited). However, Ayatollah Boroujerdi supported the referendum.[4]
- Mohammad Reza Shah declared the results "fraudulant".[4]
International
[edit]
United States: On 5 August 1953, the U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower, speaking to a gathering of state governors in Seattle, criticized Mosaddegh for the decision and specified, that it had been supported by the communist party. An editorial published by The New York Times on 4 August characterized the exercise as "More fantastic and farcical than any ever held under Hitler or Stalin", and an effort by Mosaddegh "to make himself unchallenged dictator of the country".[11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Elton L. Daniel (2012). The History of Iran. ABC-CLIO. p. 154. ISBN 978-0313375095.
- ^ a b c d e f g h 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.
- ^ a b c d Rahnema, Ali (2014), Behind the 1953 Coup in Iran: Thugs, Turncoats, Soldiers, and Spooks, Cambridge University Press, p. 287, ISBN 978-1107076068
- ^ a b c d e 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. Vol. 5. Springer. pp. 95–97. ISBN 9783319310985.
- ^ Bayandor, Darioush (2010). Iran and the CIA: The Fall of Mosaddeq Revisited. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 215. ISBN 978-0-230-57927-9.
- ^ Katouzian, Homa (2013). Iran: Politics, History and Literature. Routledge. p. 84. ISBN 9780415636896.
- ^ Majd, Mohammad Gholi (2000), Resistance to the Shah: Landowners and Ulama in Iran, University Press of Florida, pp. 260–261, ISBN 978-0813017310
- ^ Milani, Abbas (2008). Eminent Persians: The Men and Women who Made Modern Iran, 1941-1979. Vol. 1. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press. p. 243. ISBN 978-0815609070.
- ^ Abrahamian, Ervand (1982). Iran Between Two Revolutions. Princeton University Press. p. 274. ISBN 978-0-691-10134-7.
- ^ a b c d Mervyn Roberts (2012). "Analysis of Radio Propaganda in the 1953 Iran Coup". Iranian Studies. 45 (6): 759–777. doi:10.1080/00210862.2012.726848.
- ^ Bayandor, Darioush (2010). Iran and the CIA: The Fall of Mosaddeq Revisited. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-230-57927-9.
