July 1981 Iranian presidential election

The Iranian presidential election of July 1981 took place on 24 July 1981 after the previous Iranian president, Abolhassan Banisadr, was impeached by the Majlis on 21 June and then sacked by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, on 22 June. This led to the election of Mohammad Ali Rajai, the previous prime minister, winning 13,001,761 votes out of the 14,573,803 votes cast, which was 89% of the votes. The vote turnout was 65.29%.[1]

Iranian Presidential Election, 1981
24 July 1981
Registered22,687,017
Turnout64.24%
 
Nominee Mohammad-Ali Rajai Abbas Sheybani
Party IRP IRP
Popular vote 12,779,050 658,498
President before election

Abolhassan Banisadr
Independent Politician

 Elected President

Mohammad-Ali Rajai
IRP

Rajai was killed a few weeks later on 30 August 1981, together with his prime minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar.

Background

In 1981, Iran experienced two elections. The first election of 1981 took place on July 24. The reason for the July election was due to the impeachment of the President of Iran, Abolhassan Bani-Sadr (r. February 5, 1980- June 20, 1981).[2]

Abolhassan Bani-Sadr

After the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Bani-Sadr became the first president of Iran on February 5, 1980.[3] He also claimed the role of Supreme Commander.[4] The Majlis, Iran’s parliament, impeached Bani-Sadr. Bani-Sadr was impeached due to allegations stating he was attempting to undermine clerical power in Iran. Ayatollah Khomeini was at the top of these allegations since he was the Supreme Leader and a marja' (someone of high clerical ranking in Shi'i Islam) in Iran.[4] It is important to note that in Iran, the supreme leader has more power than the president, Bani-Sadr was allegedly trying to undermine Iran’s top figure, Khomeini. After Bani-Sadr was found in hiding, he and his followers fled to France or were exiled (this information varies by source).

Lead-Up to the Election

Mohammad-Ali Raja’i was Prime Minister in Iran prior to the impeachment of Bani-Sadr. After the impeachment of Bani-Sadr, Iran set up the Presidency Council, which was made up of three men: Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Raja’i, Speaker of Parliament Hojatolislam Hashemi Rafsanjani, and Chief Justice and head of the Islamic Republican Party Ayatollah Mohammed Beheshti. Raja’i took over the day-to-day part of the presidency until the election was held.[5]  

The Election

In Iran, presidential candidates must be approved by the Guardian Council.[2] 71 Iranians applied for the presidency, but only four were allowed to run. This election saw an approximate 64.24% turnout of eligible voters, or 14,573,803 out of 22,687,017 registered voters.[6] All candidates ran under the Islamic Republican Party because Iran more or less banned all other political parties except for the Islamic Republican Party.[7] The Islamic Republican Party was the leading party in Iran.[8] As for the Islamic Republican Party itself, it was founded in 1979 by Iranians of high clerical status and approved by Khomeini. The party was founded within revolutionary spirits, and its purpose was to continue the revolutionary agenda. The Islamic Republican Party would rally, purge, and overthrow any organization or person that was counterrevolutionary.[9]

The Candidates

All of the candidates were revolutionaries. Mohammad-Ali Raja’i was (the first) Prime Minister of Iran prior to the impeachment of Bani-Sadr, then he was part of the committee that fulfilled the presidency until the election. The runner up, Abbas Sheybani, was an Iranian politician, and still is today. Seyed Akbar Parvaresh was a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed, as well as an Iranian politician. Habibollah Asgaroladi-Mosalman was also an Iranian politician.[10]

Election Results
Party Candidate Nohen et al[11] ISSDP[12]
Votes % Votes %
Islamic Republican Party Mohammad-Ali Rajai 12,960,619 88.51 12,779,050 87.69
Islamic Republican Party Abbas Sheibani 626,301 4.28 658,498 4.52
Islamic Republican Party Ali Akbar Parvaresh 401,035 2.74 339,646 2.33
Islamic Republican Party Habibollah Asgaroladi 252,349 1.72 249,457 1.71
Blank or invalid votes 402,248 2.75 547,152 3.75
Totals 14,642,552 100 14,573,803 100

The Presidency of Raja'i

Raja’i was sworn in as president on August 15, 1981. The presidency of the former Prime Minister did not last long. On August 30, 1981, Raja’i and Mohammad-Javad Ba-Honar, the succeeding Prime Minister, were assassinated in a bombing.[7] After Raja’i’s assassination, the next presidential election took place October 2, 1981. Voter turnout increased by 2,000 plus voters in the October Elections, resulting in 74.26% of eligible voters participating in the election.[13] Ayatollah Khamenei was elected President of Iran, receiving 94.4% of the votes. Khamenei was president from 1981-1989.[14]

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References
  1. Buchta, Wilfried (2000). Who rules Iran? (PDF). The Washington Institute and The Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. p. 36.
  2. Alem, Yesmin. Duality by Design: The Iranian Electoral System. Washington D.C.: International Foundation for Electoral Systems, 2011.
  3. Dehghanm Saeed Kamali. “Iranian Presidential Elections 2013: The Essential Guide.” The Guardian. May 13, 2013. Accessed April 25, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/13/iranian-presidential-election-2013-iran.
  4. Buchta, Wilfried. Who Rules Iran: The Structure of Power in the Islamic Republic. Washington D.C.: Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, 2000.
  5. "Iran to Elect New President on July 24; More Bani-Sadr Supporters Executed." The New York Times. June 25, 1981. Accessed March 20, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/25/world/iran-to-elect-new-president-on-july-24-more-bani-sadr-supporters.html.
  6. Syracuse University. "1981 Presidential Election." Iran Data Portal. Accessed March 20, 2019. http://irandataportal.syr.edu/1981-presidential-elections.
  7. Nikou, Semira N. “Timeline of Iran’s Political Events.” The Iranian Primer. Accessed April 25, 2019. https://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/timeline-irans-political-events
  8. Mostofi, Khosrow, Peter William Avery, & Janet Afary. “Iran: Political Process.” Encyclopedia Britannica. April 24, 2019. Accessed April 25,2019. https://www.britannica.com/place/Iran/Justice#ref783784
  9. “Islamic Republican Party.” In The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, ed. John L. Esposito. Oxford. Accessed April 29, 2019. http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1118.
  10. “Islamic Parliament of Iran.” Center of Planning and Information Technology, Islamic Parliament of Iran. Accessed April 29, 2019. https://en.parliran.ir/eng/en/home.
  11. Nohlen, Dieter; Grotz, Florian; Hartmann, Christof (2001). "Iran". Elections in Asia: A Data Handbook. I. Oxford University Press. p. 75. ISBN 0-19-924958-X.
  12. "1981 Presidential Election", The Iran Social Science Data Portal, Princeton University, retrieved 10 August 2015
  13. Szrom, Charlie. "Historical Data on Iranian Presidential Elections." Critical Threats. Accessed March 20, 2019. https://www.criticalthreats.org/analysis/historical-data-on-iranian-presidential-elections.
  14. Alfoneh, Ali. "Renewal of Allegiance." The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. June 10, 2009. Accessed March 20, 2019. https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy- analysis/view/renewal-of-allegiance-presidential-elections-in-iran.
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