Elections of the 17th National Assembly in Neyshabur

The 17th parliamentary election was one of the most important events of the history of contemporary Iran in the process of democracy. The particular significance of this election round lies mostly in the fact that it was the only round that coincided with the establishment of the National and Popular Government in Iran at Mossadegh’s term as the Prime Minister. The 17th term of legislature began on April 26, 1952. Elections in some regions were postponed due to political tensions and interventions of local influential groups. In this round, 79 out of 136 seats in the parliament were occupied by representatives. The parliamentary election of this round in Neyshabur led to fraud and political controversy, resulting in the deaths and injuries of several people. This article seeks to study the process of conducting this election round in Neyshabur and the related events based on written documents and sources, newspapers published in those days, as well as interviews with local informants.