2001 Iranian presidential election explained

Country:Iran
Type:presidential
Previous Election:1997 Iranian presidential election
Previous Year:1997
Next Election:2005 Iranian presidential election
Next Year:2005
Election Date:8 June 2001
Registered:42,170,230
Turnout:66.78%
Image1:Khatami Cropped 2001 2.jpg
Nominee1:Mohammad Khatami
Alliance1:Reformists
Popular Vote1:21,656,476
Percentage1:78.28%
Nominee2:Ahmad Tavakkoli
Alliance2:Principlists
Popular Vote2:4,387,112
Percentage2:15.86%
President
Before Election:Mohammad Khatami
Before Party:Association of Combatant Clerics
After Election:Mohammad Khatami
After Party:Association of Combatant Clerics
Party1:2nd of Khordad
Party2:CCIRF

Presidential elections were held in Iran on 8 June 2001. The result was a victory for incumbent president Mohammad Khatami, who was re-elected for a second term.

Candidates

Although 814 candidates registered for the election, including 25 women, the Guardian Council reduced it to ten.

The final candidates were:[1] [2]

Campaign

After the scandalous final two years of his term, Mohammad Khatami was expected to be elected by a much smaller margin than in 1997. His term was marred by the unlawful arrest of political activists, killings of Iranian dissidents, and closure of several Iranian newspapers. Though Khatami was still believed to win by a landslide, this oppression was thought to significantly impact his performance in the election.[3] Initially, Khatami had considered not running for reelection. But, after months of his supporters and party members pleading with him, he finally decided to declare his candidacy two months before the start of the election.[4] Central to Khatami's campaign were the issues of economic revival, job growth, and democratic reform. Khatami also sought to restore the austerity of the Iranian Revolution.[5] According to CNN, Khatami's aides described his campaign as a “referendum for reform”. [6] Most of Khatami's nine other challengers were independent conservatives, according to BBC. [7]

Results

Turnout by province

ProvinceElectorateVotes castTurnout
Ardabil806,656467,85958.00%
East Azerbaijan2,439,4461,294,68253.07%
West Azerbaijan1,726,987974,18156.41%
Bushehr512,382365,09971.26%
Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari518,930340,54365.62%
Esfahan2,852,8821,735,81460.84%
Fars2,676,4311,821,62668.06%
Gilan1,685,1731,097,40365.12%
Golestan964,042725,93475.3%
Hamadan1,179,237743,37263.04%
Hormozgan695,182530,33676.29%
Ilam325,224250,75977.1%
Kerman1,411,555998,37170.73%
Kermanshah1,243,128790,68563.6%
Khorasan4,129,9363,124,81475.66%
Khuzestan2,487,1361,474,82059.3%
Kohgiluyeh and Buyer Ahmad353,054270,41776.59%
Kurdistan910,364486,59653.45%
Lorestan1,080,763702,93665.04%
Markazi883,979565,01863.92%
Mazandaran1,900,2461,302,65468.55%
Qazvin670,614500,91774.7%
Qom555,944428,00576.99%
Semnan366,427285,96478.04%
Sistan and Baluchestan1,001,596702,44470.13%
Tehran7,643,4715,202,27468.06%
Yazd525,981468,98289.16%
Zanjan623,464 429,38968.87%
Total42,170,23028,081,89466.59%
Source: Iran Statistical Yearbook

Notes and References

  1. News: Muir. Jim. Iran election: People and policies. 28 June 2013. BBC. 1 June 2001.
  2. Web site: Iran's Presidential Candidates. https://web.archive.org/web/20170414080814/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20010605/aponline142823_000.htm. dead. 14 April 2017. 5 June 2001. 25 January 2017. The Associated Press. The Washington Post.
  3. Book: Esfandiari, Haleh. An Assessment of the Iranian Presidential Elections. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. 2002. 1.
  4. Book: Esfandiari, Haleh. An Assessment of the Iranian Presidential Elections. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. 2002. 2.
  5. Book: Esfandiari, Haleh. An Assessment of the Iranian Presidential Elections. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. 2002. 2, 3.
  6. Web site: Presidential election in Iran. .
  7. News: Iran election: People and policies. . June 2001 .