Presidential elections were held in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

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

Mohammad Khatami Mohammad Khatami (born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician and Shia cleric 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 to 1992. Later, he was critic ...

. 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 A legal voting age is the minimum age that a person is allowed to Voting, vote in a democracy, democratic process. For General election, general elections around the world, the right to vote is restricted to adults, and most nations use 18 year ...

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, ) is an appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The constitution ...

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 (), also known as Mohammad Mohammadi-Nik (29 October 1946 – 21 March 2022), was an Iranian politician, cleric, judge and religious scholar, who notably served as Chief Judge of the Revolutionary Military Tribunal (1979–1984 ...

, Former Minister of Intelligence and National Security *

Reza Zavare'i Seyyed Reżā Zavāreʾi (‎; 1938 – 26 August 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 head of the ...

, Member of

Guardian Council The Guardian Council (also called Council of Guardians or Constitutional Council, ) is an appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The constitution ...

Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri Ali Akbar Nategh-Nuri (; born 6 October 1944) is an Iranian politician, who served as the 3rd Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran from 1992 to 2000. He was also the Minister of the Interior of Iran from 1981 to 1985. Early li ...

, Incumbent Speaker of the Parliament of Iran

Disqualified candidates

Ebrahim Yazdi Ebrahim Yazdi (; 26 September 1931 – 27 August 2017) was an Iranian peoples, Iranian politician, pharmacist, and diplomat who served as deputy prime minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs (Iran), minister of foreign affairs in the Interim Go ...

, secretary-general of

Freedom Movement of Iran The Freedom Movement of Iran (FMI) or Liberation Movement of Iran (LMI; ) is an Iranian pro-democracy political organization founded in 1961, by members describing themselves as "Muslims, Iranians, Constitutionalists and Mossadeghists". It is th ...

* Habibollah Payman, leader of Movement of Militant Muslims * Ezzatollah Sahabi, leading Nationalist-Religious figure *

Azam Taleghani Azam Taleghani (; 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 Iranian parliament.فرخ‌زاد، ...

, former member of the

Iranian parliament The Islamic Consultative Assembly (), also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles (Arabicised spelling Majlis) or ICA, is the unicameral national legislative body of Iran. The parliament currently consists of 290 representatives, an i ...

Declined to run

Mir-Hossein Mousavi Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh (, ; born 2 March 1942) is an Iranian politician, artist, architect and opposition figure who served as the 45th and last Prime Minister of Iran from 1981 to 1989. He was a reformist candidate for the 2009 Iranian p ...

, former

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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 and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...

. 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 , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

" of Iran.Election farce as Iran chooses its president
22 May 1997 Khatami ran on a platform of

political liberalization Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. Whether and to what ...

at home and

détente ''Détente'' ( , ; for, fr, , relaxation, paren=left, ) is the relaxation of strained relations, especially political ones, through verbal communication. The diplomacy term originates from around 1912, when France and Germany tried unsucces ...

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; ) or Seda va Sima () for short, formerly called National Iranian Radio and Television until the Iranian revolution of 1979, is an Iranian state-controlled media corporation that holds a monopo ...

(IRIB) became a subject of dispute, as the organization was accused of supporting Nateq-Nouri and promoting conservative agenda. * '' Salam'' supported Khatami * ''

Hamshahri ''Hamshahri'' (; ) is a major Iranian national Persian-language newspaper in Tehran (whose municipal government owns the newspaper). History and profile ''Hamshahri'' is published by the municipality of Tehran, and founded by Gholamhossein ...

'' supported Khatami * '' Resalat'' supported Nateq-Nouri * ''

Kayhan ''Kayhan'' () is a Persian-language newspaper published in Tehran, Iran. It is considered "the most conservative and hard-line 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

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...