Iran Press/ Iran News: Iran has marked the 41st anniversary of the historic referendum in which Iranians overwhelmingly voted for the establishment of an Islamic Republic following the overthrow of the monarchy of the US-backed Pahlavi regime.
In a landmark two-day referendum less than two months after the triumph of the Islamic Revolution on February 11, 1979, the referendum was held for the formation of the system of government in Iran on March 30 and 31 of the same year, more than 98.2 percent of eligible Iranians voted “yes” to the establishment of the Islamic Republic in the country.
The results of the referendum were announced on April 1 with over 98.2% votes in favor of the Islamic Republic system of government. This historical day came to be known as the "Islamic Republic Day" ever since.
Imam Khomeini's initiative to hold a referendum granted a very high status and credit to the Islamic Republic
Since then, the historic day of 1st April has been named 'The Islamic Republic Day' (in Persian this is known as 'Ruz e Jomhuri ye Esl?mi').
In a statement on the occasion of April 1, 1979 referendum on the political structure of Iran, the Coordination Council for Islamic Propagation called on April 1 a day for realizing the Iranian people's will, determination, empathy, and unity in establishing a sacred system of the Islamic Republic.
The Coordination Council for Islamic Propagation noted March 1, 1979, as the national mark and criteria of the Islamic Revolution and a day when the slogan of "Independence, Freedom, Islamic Republic" of the heroic and courageous nation of Islamic Iran was realized and called it the manifestation of national will and Iranians’ collective desire to curtail the internal and external agents of the hegemonic system and the Pahlavi regime in determining its fate.
The Islamic Revolution, led by late Imam Khomeini (R.A), culminated in the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and put an end to 2,500 years of monarchic rule in Iran.
Islamic Republic Day, a referendum granted real independence to the Iranian nation
As a matter of fact, April 1, represents genuine democracy in Islamic Iran -- a democracy which came about through the ballot box, through the votes of the Iranian people.
The 1st April referendum was based on the fundamental principle that the people should decide their own political future through the ballot box and institutionalized the idea that it is the peoples' votes that count and is the most important.
Imam Khomeini's initiative to hold a referendum granted a very high status and credit to the Islamic Republic and this fateful move gave dignity, grandeur and real independence to the Iranian nation. In fact, this move internalized the authenticity of people's votes in the early months of the emergence of the Islamic Revolution.
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April 1, 1979; manifestation of national will on the establishment of the Islamic Republic
