1996 Iranian legislative election

Parliamentary elections were held in Iran on 8 March 1996, with a second round on 19 April. The Combatant Clergy Association and its allies emerged as the largest bloc in the Majlis, winning 110 of the 270 seats.

Electoral system

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.

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.

Campaign

A total of 3,726 candidates contested the elections, including around 326 women. 145 seats were won in the first round of voting.

Main groups contesting in the elections were:

• Combatant Clergy Association and Islamic Aligned Organizations ('traditional' right-wing)
• Executives of Construction Party ('modern' right-wing)
• Association for Defence of Revolution Values ('neocon' right-wing)
• Association of Combatant Clerics ('traditional' left-wing)
• Coalition of Imam's Line groups ('radical' left-wing)

Results

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Combatant Clergy Association and allies			110	–40
Combatant Clerics of Tehran and allies			80	+80
Executives of Construction Party and allies			80	New
Invalid/blank votes		–	–	–
Total	24,716,692	100	270	0
Registered voters/turnout			–	–
Source: Nohlen et al.

Aftermath

The newly elected Majlis met for the first time on 1 June.