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All 270 seats of Islamic Consultative Assembly 135 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Registered | 34,716,000 [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Turnout | 71.10% [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Composition of the Assembly following the election | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Parliamentary elections were held in Iran on 8 March 1996, with a second round on 19 April. [2] The Combatant Clergy Association and its allies emerged as the largest bloc in the Majlis, winning 110 of the 270 seats. [2]
The constitution approved in a December 1979 referendum provided for a 270-seat Majlis, with five seats reserved for minority groups including Jews, Zorastrians, Armenians from the north and south of the country and one jointly elected by Assyrians and Chaldeans. [3]
The elections were conducted using a two-round system, with the number of candidates progressing to the second round being double the number of seats available. Candidates required an absolute majority to win a seat in the first round, and plurality to win in the second round. [3] However, in this election, minimum percentages for candidates to be elected in first round was lowered to 33.33% (one-third of votes).
A total of 3,726 candidates contested the elections, including around 326 women. [3] 145 seats were won in the first round of voting. [4]
Main groups contesting in the elections were: [5]
15 Freedom Movement members presented themselves as candidates and only 4 of them made it through initial vetting, 3 of whom were excluded before polling day. The organization announced its intention to withdraw from the election. The election was boycotted by the National Front and Nation Party. [6]
Both conservatives and reformers claimed a 70 percent majority after the first round and also claimed independents as supporters. [7]
According to Salam, Executives of Construction and Imam's Line Groups won shared 120 parliamentary seats. [8]
Faction | Seats | ||
---|---|---|---|
Right | 90 to 100 | ||
Executives of Construction | 70 to 80 | ||
Left | about 40 | ||
Source: Adelkhah [9] |
Party | Seats | +/– | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Combatant Clergy Association and allies | 110 | –40 | ||
Combatant Clerics of Tehran and allies | 80 | +80 | ||
Executives of Construction Party and allies | 80 | New | ||
Total | 270 | 0 | ||
Source: Nohlen et al. [2] |
Faction | Seats | ||
---|---|---|---|
Right-wing hardliners | 150 | ||
Rafsanjani and Executives of Construction | 15–60 | ||
Left-wing coalition of Imam's Line | 30 | ||
Independents | 30 | ||
Total | 270 | ||
Source: Kazemzadeh [10] |
The newly elected members of Majlis met for the first time on 1 June. [4] Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri remained in Speaker position until 2000 after he received 11 more votes than Abdullah Nouri (also a cleric).