Clarifying Reasons behind Boycotting 21st National Consultative Assembly by the Clergy and Political Groups

The second half of Mordad 1342 (August 1963) marks major developments in the elections for the 21st term of National Consultative Assembly. Upon a request by the Muslim nation of Iran seeking advice from the sources of religious imitation, the ulema issued a fatwa )religious decree( on boycotting the elections. Political groups followed suit due to the disagreeable conditions for them in the society, the arrest of their leaders and the massive suppression of opponent voices. This paper uses a descriptive-analytical method to study the stance by the clergy and political circles vis-à-vis the 21st term of the National Consultative Assembly elections. The principal question of this paper is: On what basis, do the ulema and political groups boycotted the 21st National Consultative Assembly elections? Evidence shows that the reasons behind such an important decision were the prevalence of an atmosphere of political suffocation and obstruction, illegal behavior of the government, objections made to the Shah’s referendum, the arrest of Ayatollah Khomeini and a number of other senior clerics followed by June 5, 1963 uprising, and lack of freedom for a secure and fair elections. The dissident political groups such as Freedom Movement of Iran, National Front and Toilers’ Party (Zahmatkeshan) followed the clerics’ course of action for the first time in their history and boycotted the elections.