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.
Abolhassan Bani-Sadr
After the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Bani-Sadr became the first president of Iran on February 5, 1980. He also claimed the role of Supreme Commander. 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' in Iran. 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.
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.
The Election
In Iran, presidential candidates must be approved by the Guardian Council. 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. All candidates ran under the Islamic Republican Party because Iran more or less banned all other political parties except for the Islamic Republican Party. The Islamic Republican Party was the leading party in Iran. 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.
The Candidates
All of the candidates were revolutionaries. Mohammad-Ali Raja’i was 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.
Election Results
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. 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. Ayatollah Khamenei was elected President of Iran, receiving 94.4% of the votes. Khamenei was president from 1981-1989.
