Iran's reformist President Mohammad Khatami swept to a landslide re-election victory Saturday, hailing his crushing defeat of conservative rivals as a triumph for "democracy and freedom."
"The nation has strived to present a right and just model of a civil society based on religion and morality alongside democracy and freedom," he said, after the interior ministry announced he had scooped up 77 percent of votes, reported AFP.
"This is a real victory, and paying this great nation back will not be easy for the one they have supported," said the mild-mannered cleric, who is set for four more years to push for the most ambitious reforms in the 22-year-old history of the Islamic republic.
He said he would attempt to instill "a legal, healthy and open atmosphere, freedom of speech and criticism and even opposition within the framework of the law."
"What is necessary for our today and tomorrow is to strengthen and deepen a system of democracy and to realise the rights of the people in the light of religion," he declared.
Final results gave the soft-spoken moderate a staggering 77 percent of the vote, 8 percent higher than last time, as Iranians emphatically rejected conservatives who have been fighting to retain their grip on the nation by bitterly opposing Khatami's reforms.
The interior ministry said Khatami won more than 21.6 million out of 28.1 million votes cast on Friday, leaving even the closest of the nine runners-up, conservative Ahmad Tavkaoli, well behind at around 16 percent.
According to the Observer on Saturday, Friday's contest “was between a gladiator and nine dwarfs. The outcome was never in doubt, merely the size of Khatami's victory.”
Turnout was higher than in 1997 elections, with 83 percent having practiced their right to vote out of the 42 million eligible.
The Observer added that the state-owned television and radio, run by conservatives, tried to downplay the election by restricting coverage. But the media widely recognized the outcome as pivotal.
The pro-Khatami newspapers hailed the "victory of democracy." The independent Iran News said: "The battleship of reforms is here to stay." Even state-run Tehran Radio called the vote and turnout "epic."
“High among the political assets of Khatami is his common touch: his effortless charm, his ready smile - a contrast with the dour expression of most clerical leaders. Equally striking is his candor. He conceded 'weaknesses' and 'shortcomings' at a press conference last week. Above all, in 57-year-old Khatami Iran has found a President who has bridged the gap between generations, between those who remember their days under the Shah's oppressive dictatorship, and those who never knew the ancient regime,” added the daily – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
