On 3 August 1979, a Constitutional Convention election was held in

East Azerbaijan Province East Azerbaijan Province ( fa, استان آذربایجان شرقی ''Āzarbāijān-e Sharqi''; az-Arab, شرقی آذربایجان اوستانی) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is located in Iranian Azerbaijan, bordering Armenia ...

(also encompassing the present-day Ardabil Province) with

plurality-at-large voting Plurality block voting, also known as plurality-at-large voting, block vote or block voting (BV) is a non-proportional voting system for electing representatives in multi-winner elections. Each voter may cast as many votes as the number of sea ...

format in order to decide all six seats for the

Assembly for the Final Review of the Constitution The Assembly for the Final Review of the Constitution (AFRC; fa, مجلس بررسی نهایی قانون اساسی) also known as the Assembly of Experts for Constitution ( fa, مجلس خبرگان قانون اساسی), was a constituent a ...

. The result was a relative victory for the

Muslim People's Republic Party The Muslim People's Republic Party (MPRP) or Islamic People's Republican Party (IPRP; fa, حزب جمهوری خلق مسلمان ایران, Ḥezb-e jomhuri-e ḵalq-e mosalmān-e Irān) was a short-lived party associated with Shia Islamic cler ...

(MPRP) over the

Islamic Republican Party The Islamic Republican Party (IRP; fa, حزب جمهوری اسلامی, Ḥezb-e Jomhūrī-e Eslāmī, also translated Islamic Republic Party) formed in 1979 to assist the Iranian Revolution and Ayatollah Khomeini establish theocracy in Iran. ...

(IRP). A stronghold of

Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari Sayyid Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari ( fa, محمد کاظم شریعتمداری), also spelled Shariat-Madari (5 January 1906 – 3 April 1986), was an Iranian Grand Ayatollah. He favoured the traditional Shiite practice of keeping clerics awa ...

supporters, it was one of the few constituencies where

Khomeinist Khomeinism refers to the religious and political ideas of the leader of the Iranian Revolution, Ruhollah Khomeini. Khomeinism also refers to the ruling clerical class of Iran after 1979. It can also be used to refer to the radicalization of segmen ...

candidates did not end up winning a landslide. Out of the six seats up for the election, four went to those endorsed by the MPRP while the IRP had listed three winners (one candidates was supported by both). Lay candidates supported by groups such as the

Freedom Movement of Iran The Freedom Movement of Iran (FMI) or Liberation Movement of Iran (LMI; fa, نهضت آزادی ايران, Nahżat-e āzādi-e Irān) is an Iranian pro-democracy political organization founded in 1961, by members describing themselves as "Muslim ...

and the

Movement of Militant Muslims The Movement of Militant Muslims ( fa, جنبش مسلمانان مبارز) is an Iranian Islamic socialist political group led by Habibollah Payman. The group had been revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or a ...

were defeated. Khomeini published a ''fatwa'' banning the

People's Mujahedin of Iran The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), also known as Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) or Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) ( fa, سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران, sâzmân-e mojâhedīn-e khalq-e īrân), is an Iranian pol ...

from government elections. Secular nationalists and communists could not receive more than 3% of the votes.

Results

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References

{{1979 Iranian constitutional assembly elections 1979 elections in Iran East Azerbaijan province