Iranian reformer summoned for new run at presidency

April 8, 2013
Reemergence of an erstwhile reformer in a country resistant to reform adds an interesting note to the centrally choreographed politics of Iran.

Reemergence of an erstwhile reformer in a country resistant to reform adds an interesting note to the centrally choreographed politics of Iran.

Reports that former President Mohammad Khatami might run again for the Islamic Republic's highest elected office raise a host of questions. Prime among them: What can this mean?

Khatami served two terms as president during 1997-2005 and could not, under the constitution, seek a sequential third.

A wave of popularity carried Khatami into office in his first term. Despite support from Iran's clerical rulers for his conservative opponent, Khatami won 70% of the votes in an election notable for heavy turnout.

Iranians, oppressed by the theocracy based in Qom, saw Khatami as a reformer. They didn't get the reform they wanted.

The Iranian president has little power. That belongs to the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, who controls the military, police force, and important institutions. Khamenei also controls the Guardians Council, which vets political candidates.

Khatami's reform efforts met systematic resistance. Key officials of his administration cycled into and out of jail. In the parliamentary election of 2004 the Guardians Council ensured conservative power gains by rejecting more than 100 reformist candidacies.

Since then, with conservatives dominating the parliament and the fiery Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president, reform has been in the shadows.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty now reports calls for Khatami to seek the presidency again in an election June 14. Expectations are mixed whether he'll run, whether the Guardians Council will let him, and whether he'd run in defiance of council rejection.

It's also unclear how forcefully he'd push for reform if he did reclaim the office. By the end of his second presidential term, his zeal for change had come under question.

For that reason, a theocracy under international pressure and reportedly weary of Ahmadinejad's boisterousness might welcome Khatami's return.

In Qom, Khatami might be seen as a useful way to keep Iranians out of the street—but no real threat to the power mullahs.