Democrat Party (Persia)
# Democrat Party (Persia)

The Democrat Party (Persian: فرقه دموکرات) was a social democrat political party in Qajari Persia, during the constitutional period. It was one of two major parliamentary parties at the time, along with the Moderate Socialists Party. It was largely composed of middle-class intellectuals and stood for the separation of church and state.

## History

Initially an offshoot of the Transcaucasia-based Social Democratic Party, it severed direct ties with Baku and dropped "Social" from the name in deference to the conservative public. Its ideology, however, remained heavily borrowed from the old party.

In 1918, the party split definitively into the Pro-Reorganization Democrats (Persian: دموکرات‌های تشکیلی, romanized: Demokrāthā-ye taškīlī) led by Bahar; and the Anti-Reorganization Democrats (Persian: دموکرات‌های ضدتشکیلی, romanized: Demokrāthā-ye żedd-e taškīlī).

## Parliament election results

| Election | Seats | Seats | Seats | Seats | Quota |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Election | Count | ± | % | ± | Quota |
| 1906 | 21 / 156 | — | 13.46 | — | Minority as Social Democratic Party |
| 1909 | 28 / 126 | 7 | 22.22 | 8.76 | Minority |
| 1914 | 51 / 115 | 23 | 44.34 | 22.12 | Majority party Including 20 in coalition |
