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1953 Iranian parliamentary dissolution referendum

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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.

1953 Iranian parliamentary dissolution referendum
3–10 August 1953 (1953-08-03 – 1953-08-10)
Dissolution or Continuation of the 17th National Consultative Assembly
Results
Choice
 Votes %
Yes 2,043,389 99.94%
No 1,207 0.06%
Valid votes 2,044,596 100.00%
Invalid or blank votes 4 0.00%
Total votes 2,044,600 100.00%

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

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  • 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Domestic

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International

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  •   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

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  1. ^ a b Elton L. Daniel (2012). The History of Iran. ABC-CLIO. p. 154. ISBN 978-0313375095.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ 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.
  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. Vol. 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. ^ 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.
  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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