Presidential elections were held in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

on 23 May 1997, which resulted in an unpredicted win for the reformist candidate

Mohammad Khatami Sayyid Mohammad Khatami ( fa, سید محمد خاتمی, ; born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 ...

. 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 The Guardian Council, (also called Council of Guardians or Constitutional Council, fa, شورای نگهبان, Shourā-ye Negahbān) is an appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence i ...

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: *

, Former Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance *

Mohammad Reyshahri Mohammad Reyshahri ( fa, محمد ری‌‌شهری), also known as Mohammad Mohammadi-Nik (29 October 1946 – 21 March 2022), was an Iranian politician and cleric who was the first Minister of Intelligence, serving from 1984 to 1989 in the c ...

, Former Minister of Intelligence and National Security *

Reza Zavare'i Seyyed Reżā Zavāreʾi ( fa, سید رضا زواره‌ای; 1938–2005) was an Iranian jurist and politician. He served as a member of the Member of Guardian Council from 1995 to 1996, and 1998 to 2004. He was acting mayor of Tehran, deputy ...

, Member of

Guardian Council The Guardian Council, (also called Council of Guardians or Constitutional Council, fa, شورای نگهبان, Shourā-ye Negahbān) is an appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence i ...

* Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri, Incumbent Speaker of the Parliament of Iran

Disqualified candidates

* Ebrahim Yazdi, secretary-general of

Freedom Movement of Iran The Freedom Movement of Iran (FMI) or Liberation Movement of Iran (LMI; fa, نهضت آزادی ايران, Nahżat-e āzādi-e Irān) is an Iranian pro- democracy political organization founded in 1961, by members describing themselves as "Musli ...

* Habibollah Payman, leader of

Movement of Militant Muslims The Movement of Militant Muslims ( fa, جنبش مسلمانان مبارز) is an Iranian Islamic socialist political group led by Habibollah Payman. The group had been revolutionary and is close to Council of Nationalist-Religious Activists o ...

* Ezzatollah Sahabi, leading

Nationalist-Religious The Religious-Nationalists (plural form in fa, ملّی‌مذهبی‌ها, Melli-Mazhabi ha, lit=The Nationalist-Religious Ones) or the National-Religious ( fa, ملّی‌مذهبی, Melli-Mazhabi as an adjective) are terms referring to a pol ...

figure *

Azam Taleghani Azam Taleghani ( fa, اعظم طالقانی; 1943 – 30 October 2019) was an Iranian politician and journalist who was the head of the Society of Islamic Revolution Women of Iran, editor of '' Payam-e-Hajar'' weekly, and a member of the Irania ...

, former member of the

Iranian parliament The Islamic Consultative Assembly ( fa, مجلس شورای اسلامی, Majles-e Showrā-ye Eslāmī), also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles (Arabicised spelling Majlis) or ICA, is the national legislative body of Iran. The Pa ...

Declined to run

Mir-Hossein Mousavi Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh ( fa, میرحسین موسوی خامنه, Mīr-Hoseyn Mūsavī Khāmené, ; born 2 March 1942) is an Iranian reformist politician, artist and architect who served as the forty-ninth and last Prime Minister of Ira ...

, former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Issues

The candidates were asked about their opinion on the fatwa against

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and ...

. Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri said that any "a good Muslim" would carry out the fatwa.Rushdie key issue in Iran election
22 May 1997 Mohammad Khatami avoided the issue. Mohammad Khatami's supporters called Nateq-Nouri the "

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

" of Iran.Election farce as Iran chooses its president
22 May 1997 Khatami ran on a platform of political liberalization at home and

détente Détente (, French: "relaxation") is the relaxation of strained relations, especially political ones, through verbal communication. The term, in diplomacy, originates from around 1912, when France and Germany tried unsuccessfully to reduce ...

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 The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB; fa, صدا و سيمای جمهوری اسلامی ايران, ''Sedā va Sīmā-ye Jomhūri-ye Eslāmi-ye Īrān'', , formerly called National Iranian Radio and Television until the Iranian re ...

(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 ''Kayhan'' ( fa, کيهان, '' en, The Cosmos'') is a newspaper published in Tehran, Iran. It is considered "the most conservative Iranian newspaper." Hossein Shariatmadari is the editor-in-chief of ''Kayhan''. According to the report of the ' ...

'' supported Nateq-Nouri

Results

References

External links

Moderate triumphs in Iranian electionsMohammad Khatami's background
{{Iranian elections Presidential elections in Iran 1997 elections in Iran May 1997 events in Asia