1981 жылғы Иран президенттік сайлауы

Second Iranian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Iran on 24 July 1981 after the previous Iranian president, Abolhassan Banisadr, was impeached by the Majlis on 21 June and then sacked by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, on 22 June. The elections occurred after the Hafte Tir bombing, which killed Mohammad Beheshti and dozens of other Iranian officials on 28 June 1981. This led to the election of Mohammad Ali Rajai, the previous prime minister, winning 13,001,761 votes out of the 14,573,803 votes cast, which was 89% of the votes. The vote turnout was 65.29%. Rajai was killed a few weeks later on 30 August 1981, together with his prime minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar.

On 28 June 1981, a bomb, planted by a 23 year old man, named Mohammad Reza Kolahi, exploded, killing Mohammad Beheshti and dozens of other Iranian officials. In 1981, Iran experienced two elections. The first election of 1981 took place on 24 July. The reason for the July election was due to the impeachment of the President of Iran, Abolhassan Bani Sadr (r. 5 February 1980 – 20 June 1981).

After the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Bani Sadr became the first president of Iran on 5 February 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' (someone of high clerical ranking in Shi'i Islam) in Iran.

In Iran, presidential candidates must be approved by the Guardian Council. 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.

All of the candidates were revolutionaries. Mohammad Ali Raja’i was (the first) 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.

July 1981 Iranian presidential election Party Candidate Nohen et al ISSDP Votes % Votes % Islamic Republican Party Mohammad Ali Rajai 12,960,619 88.51 12,779,050 87.69 Islamic Republican Party Abbas Sheibani 626,301 4.28 658,498 4.52 Islamic Republican Party Ali Akbar Parvaresh 401,035 2.74 339,646 2.33 Islamic Republican Party Habibollah Asgaroladi 252,349 1.72 249,457 1.71 Blank or invalid votes 402,248 2.75 547,152 3.75 Totals 14,642,552 100 14,573,803 100

Raja’i was sworn in as president on 15 August 1981. The presidency of the former Prime Minister did not last long. On 30 August 1981, Raja’i and Mohammad Javad Ba Honar, the succeeding Prime Minister, were assassinated in a bombing. Ayatollah Khamenei was elected President of Iran, receiving 94.4% of the votes. Khamenei was president from 1981 to 1989.