April 3, 2021
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As Iran marks the 42nd anniversary of a referendum that helped to solidify its 1979 Islamic Revolution, there is growing talk inside and outside the country of a need for another referendum to spur change, but little agreement about who should conduct such a vote and how.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran’s first Islamist supreme leader who seized power from Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in February 1979, ordered a national referendum to be held weeks later try to secure public approval for the question of whether or not to turn the nation into an “Islamic republic.” After voting was held March 30-31, officials asserted that 98% of eligible voters said yes and proclaimed the date of the results, April 1, as an “Islamic Republic Day” holiday.