Landslide to Islam in poll

Press, 2 April 1979, Page 8

Landslide to Islam in poll

NZPA-Reuter Teheran The Iranian Government has confidently claimed a landslide referendum victory for proposals to set up an Islamic republic, saying an estimated 97 per cent of Iranians had voted in its favour. Despite reports of abstentions. the Ministry of the Interior said about 98 per cent of the electors had already voted by Saturday night. The referendum was originally scheduled to last only one day, but this was changed at the last minute. The Government also lowered the voting age in an apparent attempt to secure as many votes as possible for the Islamic republic proposed by the Revolutionary religious leader, Avatolla'h Khdmeiny. The leader of a team of international lawyers invited by the Government to observe the voting said the referendum did not meet Western standards of democracy, and that he would not be surprised if the results matched those of elections held under the Shah. The last time Iranians were asked to vote “Yes” or No” was in the January, 1963, referendum on the Shah’s "white revolution” and its crucial question of land reform. According to the official results, 99.94 per cent of the voters approved the project. Millions of Iranians flocked to the polls, and it was clear that those who did turn out to vote were over-

i whelmingly in favour of the inew republic. “The people feel they have i been consulted for the first I time in at least 25 years and i the results are not really important,” said the French I lawyer, Mr Nuri Albala. yvho I heads the group of foreign lawyers. I The Teheran evening ■i newspaper. “Kayhan,” reported fighting for the sixth 'consecutive day between the Turkomans yvho want independence and army-backed Islamic militias in the northeastern toyvn of Gonbad Kavus. It said all commun- , ications with the troublespot i had been cut. The newspaper. “Ayendega,” reported that three revolutionary militiamen had been killed, and one 'wounded, on Saturday evening w'hen counter-revolution-ary elements attacked a polling place in Teheran. The attackers were not further identified.