# 1980 Iranian presidential election

Presidential elections were held for the first time in Iran on 25 January 1980, one year after the Iranian Revolution when the Council of the Islamic Revolution was in power. Abolhassan Banisadr was elected president with 76% of the vote.

## Candidates

The number of the candidates registered to run for the presidency was 124, but only 96 of them were allowed to run. There were only 8 candidates with ballot access and the rest of candidates were write-in.

### Candidates with ballot access
#### Party nominees

* Hassan Habibi (Islamic Republican Party)
* Dariush Forouhar (Nation Party)
* Kazem Sami (JAMA)

#### Non-partisan candidates

* Abolhassan Banisadr
* Ahmad Madani (National Front member)
* Sadeq Tabatabaei (Freedom Movement member)
* Sadegh Ghotbzadeh (Freedom Movement member)
* Mohammad Mokri (National Front member)

### Withdrew

* Hassan Ayat (Independent; Islamic Republican Party member), endorsed Jalaleddin Farsi
* Jalaleddin Farsi (Islamic Republican Party nominee), ineligible to run for the office due to his Afghan origin
* Sadegh Khalkhali (Independent), endorsed Abolhassan Banisadr
* Massoud Rajavi (People's Mujahedin of Iran nominee), forced to withdraw for opposing the Islamic Republic constitution

### Declined to run

* Ruhollah Khomeini, incumbent Supreme Leader of Iran
* Mohammad Beheshti, incumbent Chief Justice of Iran
* Mehdi Bazargan, former Prime Minister of Iran

## Endorsements

| Organization | Candidate |
| Combatant Clergy Association | Abolhassan Banisadr |
| Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom | Hassan Habibi (Replaced Abolhassan Banisadr) |
| Islamic Republican Party | Hassan Habibi (Replaced Jalaleddin Farsi) |
| Freedom Movement of Iran | None |
| Tudeh Party of Iran | Hassan Habibi |
| Nation Party of Iran | Dariush Forouhar |
| Revolutionary Movement of Muslim People of Iran | Kazem Sami |
| People's Mujahedin of Iran | None (Initially Massoud Rajavi) |
| Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan | None (Initially Massoud Rajavi) |
| Organization of People's Fedaian Majority and Minority | None (Initially Massoud Rajavi) |
| Movement of Militant Muslims | None |
| Socialist Workers' Party of Iran | Babak Zahraei |
| Fada'iyan-e Islam | Abolhassan Banisadr |
| Islamic Association of Teachers of Iran | Abolhassan Banisadr |

## Election results

Abolhassan Banisadr was elected as president.

### Nationwide

1980 Iranian presidential election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Abolhassan Banisadr | 10,709,330 | 75.6 |
| | Independent | Ahmad Madani | 2,224,554 | 15.71 |
| | Islamic Republican Party | Hassan Habibi | 674,859 | 3.35 |
| | Nation Party | Dariush Forouhar | 133,478 | 0.94 |
| | Independent | Sadeq Tabatabaei | 114,776 | 0.81 |
| | JAMA | Kazem Sami | 89,270 | 0.63 |
| | Independent | Sadegh Ghotbzadeh | 48,547 | 0.34 |
| Other candidates | Other candidates | Other candidates | 2,110 | 0.01 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 13,994,814 | 98.93 | 98.93 |
| Blank or invalid votes | Blank or invalid votes | Blank or invalid votes | 151,806 | 1.07 | 1.07 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | 14,146,620 | 100 | 100 |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 67.42 | 67.42 | 67.42 |
| ↑ National Front member ↑ Freedom Movement of Iran member Sources: Nohlen et al and Iran Social Science Data Portal ||||||

### Tehran

| # | Candidate | Votes |
| 1 | Abolhassan Banisadr | 1,833,197 |
| 2 | Ahmad Madani | 553,557 |
| 3 | Hassan Habibi | 90,228 |
| 4 | Sadeq Tabatabaei | 28,676 |
| 5 | Kazem Sami | 24,676 |
| 6 | Dariush Forouhar | 22,221 |
| 7 | Sadegh Ghotbzadeh | 12,207 |
| 8 | Mohammad Mokri | 299 |
| 9 | Mahmoud Seirafizadeh | 169 |
| Others | Others | <100 |