14 - 20 June 2001
Issue No.538
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 14 - 20 June 2001 Issue No.538 |
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A second, cleaner sweep
Iranians turned out in droves to secure President Khatami a victory greater than his first. Azadeh Moaveni follows the commotion in Tehran
In the end, it was an election that came alive at night. On election day, voting stations around the country extended their hours three times; at midnight, people still lined the streets waiting to cast the ballots that secured President Mohammed Khatami a second overwhelming victory. The next day results were in by nightfall, and in Vali-Asr street, Tehran's main avenue, Iranians held an impromptu celebratory carnival, stirred by a cacophony of honking horns and blaring music, threaded with young people licking ice cream cones, holding hands, and dancing with glee. Cars plastered with Khatami posters cruised north, and from below the avenue appeared alive with flailing limbs, as passengers waved gladiolas, balloons, and Khatami flags out of their windows. "Anyone who cares about Iran and about freedom voted for him yesterday," exclaimed Ghazal Ibrahimi, 17, as she rhythmically blared her horn in stalled traffic.
But each block further north along the tree-lined avenue, the atmosphere grew tenser. Drivers wound shut their windows, pulled over to peel Khatami posters off their cars, and the horn symphony was replaced first by eerie silence, and then by the sound of motorcycles being gunned. By the darkened beginning of Mellat (People's) Park, the windows of cars bearing Khatami posters were smashed, as hundreds of baton-wielding Basijis (volunteer Islamic militia) chased the exultant young. In the space of a few hundred metres, the street party was transformed into a fierce disturbance, almost a riot.
Little wonder the Basij was out in force. Khatami's win surpassed even his 1997 victory. Of the 28 million Iranians who voted (a turnout of 70 per cent of the 41 million eligible), 21 million voted for Khatami, 77.8 per cent of the vote. The frustration and apathy that had most analysts predicting Iranians would stay home from the polls either never existed or underwent a dramatic eleventh-hour transformation, producing a victory that astounded reformers and conservatives alike. With even seasoned pro-reform members of parliament privately expecting only 16-17 millions votes, the turnout only re- emphasises the unpredictability of both Iranian society and politics.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei signalled an important show of support for Khatami as he cast his own ballot. "I advise everyone after today to set rivalry aside. Whoever is chosen will be everyone's president, and all must respect him," he said.
Khatami arrived at the house of the late Imam Khomeini to vote, joking with reporters as he bent over the ballot box. "Who did you vote for?" shouted a reporter. "Mr. Hashemi-Taba!" Khatami said, flashing a grin at one of his nine conservative opponents who happened to be standing on the sidelines. Of his rivals, most garnered only a paltry number of votes; among them only Ahmed Tavakoli secured a respectable four million. Iran's pious working-class formed the basis of his constituency. They fear Khatami's tolerant cultural policies will compromise the rigid Islamic system with which they are now comfortable.
As reformists hoped all along, President Khatami's spectacular re-election can be interpreted as little else than a massive popular endorsement of his moderate push for change. But judging by the chaos in the streets of Tehran the night following his victory, it is unclear how willing the conservatives will be to absorb the voice of the people. Reformists fear another extraordinary victory could frighten the hard-line establishment, as it did after last year's parliamentary elections, and provoke a violent backlash by a skittish right wing. In deference to their opponents' high-strung sensibilities, reformists insisted that President Khatami should run a dull campaign that de-emphasised his effervescent effect on society. But even that did not inhibit the voters. Khatami will take two months to assemble his new government: assuming the hard-line vetting body, the Guardian Council, approves his victory.
As results rolled in, the Council reported some irregularities, but they are unlikely to warrant the cancellation of results, according to Seyed-Reza Zavarei, a Council member. "All parts of the regime had better accept the demands of the people. Reform needs to flow into all parts of the regime," cautioned pro-reform MP Fatem Haghighatju.
Now the reformist-dominated parliament can also put the crucial test behind.
A new press bill and the national budget have emerged as major priorities. Khatami's inner circle have little doubt the cat- and-mouse game of the last four years will stop in his second term. His wife, Zohreh Zadeqi, is similarly realistic about the challenges that will follow: "The four years have been very difficult," she told a women's magazine last week. "But the coming four years will be even more so for the goals Mr. Khatami is committed to achieving."
Khatami told the nation on the official state radio that "patience, moderation, and prudence" are as important principles as the promotion of democracy.
"Now the honourable Iranian nation, as the winner of this contest, is determined in its just demands and expects the government and the system to take greater steps to fulfill them," Khatami said. "Freedom of speech, criticism and even protest within the law . . . these are the preconditions for quicker victory."
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