1968 Iranian local elections

The first ever local elections in Iran were held in 1968, to elect the members of city and town municipal councils (Anjoman).[1] The elections were scheduled for the beginning of May, however after being delayed several times, it started on 4 October 1968 for 175 local councils.[2]

1968 Iranian local elections

4 October 1968 (1968-10-04) 1970 →

1,068 seats in 173 local Councils
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Amir-Abbas Hoveyda Asadollah Alam Mohsen Pezeshkpour
Party New Iran Party People's Party Pan-Iranist Party
Seats won 806 126 20

The result was a victory for the New Iran Party.[3]

According to Dilip Hiro, 90% of the voters in Tehran abstained, a way to mildly express dissent.[4]

Results

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Out of 173 councils up for election, the results for 7 cities were annulled, including Sanandaj, Mehriz, Nahavand and Khansar. The New Iran Party managed to gain majority in 148 councils and in 115 of them, it won all of the seats (including the capital, Tehran). People's Party came up second, gaining control of 12 councils while the Pan-Iranist Party won in 2 councils, in Shushtar and in Khorramshahr. Non-partisan candidates shaped the majority in 4 cities, including Dehloran, Amirkola, Rey and Nur.[5]

Party Seats Share (%)
New Iran Party 806 75.47%
People's Party 126 11.80%
Pan-Iranist Party 20 1.87%
Independents 116 10.86%
Total 1,068 100%
Source: Smith[6] and Dishon[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Village, City/Town, Township/Provincial Councils", Iran Almanac and Book of Facts, Echo of Iran, 1974, p. 102
  2. ^ Dishon, Daniel (1973), Middle East Record, vol. 4, John Wiley & Sons, p. 481, ISBN 9780470216118
  3. ^ "IRAN", Middle East Record, Shiloah Centre for Middle Eastern and African Studies monograph, vol. 4, John Wiley & Sons, 1973, p. 473, ISBN 9780470216118
  4. ^ Hiro, Dilip (2013). Iran Under the Ayatollahs (Routledge Revivals). Routledge. p. 55. ISBN 1135043817.
  5. ^ a b Dishon, Daniel (1973), Middle East Record, vol. 4, John Wiley & Sons, p. 484, ISBN 9780470216118
  6. ^ Harvey Henry, Smith (1971), Area Handbook for Iran, vol. 550, U.S. Government Printing Office, pp. 285–286, ISSN 0892-8541