1928 Persian legislative election

In the elections for the seventh Majlis, systematically rigged by the military and Interior ministry, handpicked representatives of Reza Shah were chosen to the parliament to ensure the exclusion of recalcitrants[1] and "unsuitable candidates who insisted on running found themselves either in jail or banished from their localities".[2]

1928 Persian legislative election

1928
All 136 seats to the National Consultative Assembly
Leader Abdolhossein Teymourtash Party Progress Party Leader's seat Did not stand Percentage 90%
Prime Minister before election Mehdi Qoli Hedayat Elected Prime Minister Mehdi Qoli Hedayat

During the campaign, all public speeches were prohibited by police.[3]

Hassan Modarres who was Tehran's most voted deputy in the previous election, was expelled without even a single vote in his favor. He objected the results, famously asking "What about the vote that I had cast for myself?".[4] Other candidates such as Mohammad Mossadegh, Hassan Taghizadeh and Hossein Ala' were not elected despite the demand for them.[3]

The royalist supporters of Reza Shah flourishing in Progress Party, were the majority of the parliament, dominating about 90% of the seats.[5]

The opposition was a minority with only two-seats held by Mohammad Farrokhi Yazdi representing Yazd and Mahmoud Reza Tolou of Lahijan.[4]

References

1. Azimi, Fakhreddin (2008). Quest for Democracy in Iran: A Century of Struggle Against Authoritarian Rule. Harvard University Press. p. 56. ISBN 0674027787.
2. Abrahamian, Ervand (2008). A History of Modern Iran. Cambridge University Press. p. 73. ISBN 978-0521528917.
3. Ladjevardi, Habib (1985). Labor Unions and Autocracy in Iran. Syracuse University Press. p. 19. ISBN 0815623437.
4. Haddad Adel, Gholamali; Elmi, Mohammad Jafar; Taromi-Rad, Hassan. Political Parties: Selected Entries from Encyclopaedia of the World of Islam. EWI Press. p. 37. ISBN 9781908433022.
5. Atabaki, Touraj; Zurcher, Erik (2004). Men of Order: Authoritarian Modernization Under Atatürk and Reza Shah. I.B.Tauris. p. 93. ISBN 9781860644269.