1979 Iranian Islamic Republic referendum

Dispute over legitimacy

Ahead of the referendum, the Interim Government of Iran invited a four-man delegation from International Association of Democratic Lawyers to monitor the voting process.^[12] Nuri Albala, a French member of the delegation, told The New York Times that "there were no booths, and voting was done in the presence of Islamic officials, often amid dozens of posters calling for a yes vote. There were many reports of polling officers tearing off the green‐colored "yes" portions of the ballots and stuffing them in the boxes on behalf of the voters...A number of young voters told reporters that they were afraid to openly vote no in the presence of so many others who felt otherwise".^[7] Similarly, a report by The Washington Post noted that polling places lacked private booths, and that the color-coded ballots could clearly be seen by the polling officers, prompting the head of the delegation to state that "this is not the way we do things in the West, and it does not meet our criteria of democracy".^[8] However, Michael Axworthy, author of Revolutionary Iran: A History of the Islamic Republic, states that "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", namely the end of the monarchy.^[13]

Numerous political parties, such as the National Democratic Front and the People's Fedai Guerrillas, boycotted both participation in and the results of the referendum. The People's Mojahedin Organization, the Tudeh Party, the Freedom Movement, the National Front, and the Muslim People's Republican Party, while approving the referendum, "objected to the imposition of Khomeini's choice".^[14]

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