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1997 Iranian presidential election

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Registered	36,466,487
Turnout	79.92%
Nominee Mohammad Khatami Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri Party ACC CCA Alliance Reformists Principlists Popular vote 20,078,187 7,242,859 Percentage 69.07% 24.91%
President before election Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani CCA Elected President Mohammad Khatami ACC

Presidential elections were held in Iran on 23 May 1997, which resulted in an unpredicted win for the reformist candidate Mohammad Khatami. The election was notable not only for the lopsided majority of the winner - 70% - but for the high turnout. 80% of those eligible to vote did so, compared to 50% in the previous presidential election.

During the election, voting age was 15 and more than half of Iran's population was younger than 25.

Candidates

The Council of Guardians blocked 234 candidates from running for the presidency because they lacked the religious and political qualifications. Only four candidates were permitted to run for office:

• Mohammad Khatami, Former Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance
• Mohammad Reyshahri, Former Minister of Intelligence and National Security
• Reza Zavare'i, Member of Guardian Council
• Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri, Incumbent Speaker of the Parliament of Iran

Disqualified candidates

• Ebrahim Yazdi, secretary-general of Freedom Movement of Iran
• Habibollah Payman, leader of Movement of Militant Muslims
• Ezzatollah Sahabi, leading Nationalist-Religious figure
• Azam Taleghani, former member of the Iranian parliament

Declined to run

• Mir-Hossein Mousavi, former Prime Minister

Issues

The candidates were asked about their opinion on the fatwa against Salman Rushdie. Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri said that any "a good Muslim" would carry out the fatwa. Mohammad Khatami avoided the issue. Mohammad Khatami's supporters called Nateq-Nouri the "Taliban" of Iran.

Khatami ran on a platform of political liberalization at home and détente abroad and expressed support for the easing Islamic regulations "from women's dress to whether TV satellite dishes should be allowed."

Endorsements

Media

During the elections, neutrality of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) became a subject of dispute, as the organization was accused of supporting Nateq-Nouri and promoting conservative agenda.

• Salam supported Khatami
• Hamshahri supported Khatami
• Resalat supported Nateq-Nouri
• Kayhan supported Nateq-Nouri

Results

References

1. ^ "1997 Presidential Election", The Iran Social Science Data Portal, Princeton University, retrieved 10 August 2015
2. Abrahamian, Ervand, History of Modern Iran, Columbia University Press, 2008, p. 186
3. Fadaee, Simin (2012). Social Movements in Iran: Environmentalism and Civil Society. Routledge. p. 67. ISBN 978-0415693578.
4. Calls for reform grow louder as Iran goes to polls 24 May 1997
5. Iran’s Myth of Moderation 18 March 2002
6. ^ Buchta, Wilfried (2000), Who rules Iran?: the structure of power in the Islamic Republic, Washington DC: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, The Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, pp. 31–32, ISBN 0-944029-39-6
7. Amir Arjomand, Saïd (2009). After Khomeini: Iran Under His Successors. Oxford University Press. p. 92. ISBN 9780199745760.
8. ^ Rushdie key issue in Iran election 22 May 1997
9. Election farce as Iran chooses its president 22 May 1997
10. Brown, L. Carl (2004). Diplomacy in the Middle East: The International Relations of Regional and Outsid. I.B.Tauris. p. 254. ISBN 1860648991.
11. "Iranians look for economic help from Friday's election". CNN. 19 May 1997.
12. ^ Mohammidi, Ali (1 February 2013). Iran Encountering Globalization: Problems and Prospects. Routledge. p. 214. ISBN 9781136776793.
13. Samii, Abbas W. (Winter 2005), "The Changing Landscape of Party Politics in Iran—A Case Study" (PDF), Journal of the European Society for Iranian Studies (1): 53–62
14. Curtis, Glenn; Hooglund, Eric (2008), Iran, a country study, Washington, D.C., USA: Library of Congress, p. 231, ISBN 978-0-8444-1187-3
15. Mehdi Moslem (2002), Factional Politics in Post-Khomeini Iran, Syracuse University Press, p. 245, ISBN 9780815629788
16. Brumberg, Daniel; Farhi, Farideh (2016). Power and Change in Iran: Politics of Contention and Conciliation. Indiana Series in Middle East Studies. Indiana University Press. p. 175.
17. Roger Howard (2004). Iran in Crisis?: The Future of the Revolutionary Regime and the US Response. Indiana Series in Middle East Studies. Zed Books. p. 185. ISBN 9781842774755.
18. Gholam Khiabany (2009). Iranian Media: The Paradox of Modernity. Routledge. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-203-87641-1.
19. John H. Lorentz (2010). "Khatami, Muhammad". The A to Z of Iran. The A to Z Guide Series. Vol. 209. Scarecrow Press. p. 169. ISBN 978-1461731917.
20. Brumberg, Daniel (2001). Reinventing Khomeini: The Struggle for Reform in Iran. University of Chicago Press. p. 290. ISBN 0226077586.
21. ^ Basmenji, Kaveh (2013). "Nine: Playing Chess with an Ape". Tehran Blues: Youth Culture in Iran. Saqi. ISBN 978-0863565151.
22. Nohlen, Dieter; Grotz, Florian; Hartmann, Christof (2001). "Iran". Elections in Asia: A Data Handbook. Vol. I. Oxford University Press. p. 76. ISBN 0-19-924958-X.

External links

• Moderate triumphs in Iranian elections
• Mohammad Khatami's background
• Iran Elections: An Overview

v t e Elections and referendums in Iran
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Referendums	1953 1963 1979 (Mar) 1979 (Dec) 1989
List of elections and referendums

• Presidential elections in Iran
• 1997 elections in Iran
• May 1997 events in Iran
• 1997 elections in Asia