Khatami's reform message to Iran unchanged

By Jon Hemming

TEHRAN (Reuters): Iran's President Mohammad Khatami believes the same message that swept him to office in 1997 will persuade voters to give him the mandate he needs to overcome conservative resistance to reform, aides say.

It was a tearful Khatami, overcome with emotion, who announced three weeks ago that he would run for re-election in the June 8 polls, but in his opening remarks of his campaign on television on Wednesday, his tone had changed.

The diffident, mid-ranking Shi'ite cleric, often dubbed the "smiling face of the Islamic Republic", looked determined and decisive as he set out his election stall.

"Reform cannot be stopped because its roots are in the will of the people," he declared. "Freedom is as necessary as water."

All very well, but can the man who has himself complained the presidency lacks power, carry out his election pledge and realize his dream of a more open, freer Islamic democracy?

Much depends on the level of support he gets at the polls.

Supporters say the election is a referendum on reform and are calling for a high turnout to demonstrate the popular will.

"The presence of the people in the polls is the best way to defeat the conservatives," reformist theoretician Abbas Abdi told a round-table debate in the capital Tehran.

Khatami won 20.1 million votes in 1997, nearly 70 percent, on a turnout of 29.1 million, 76 percent of the electorate.

Now there are 42 million voters, but second-term presidents have hitherto drawn fewer votes and many experts question whether he will even garner 15 million.

"With 20 million votes last time, critics say he managed to do very little," said Anoush Ehteshami, an Iran expert at Durham University. "Now, even if he does get more votes, it is unlikely to have an impact on the legitimacy of his cause."

Many, especially the young, are disillusioned with the slow pace of change and sceptical of Khatami's chances of overcoming conservatives entrenched in key positions of power.

The judiciary, appointed by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has prosecuted and jailed dozens of pro-reform intellectuals and banned some 40 reformist newspapers, while the 12-man Guardian Council has vetoed Khatami legislation.

But the Khatami camp appears undeterred. Despite the setbacks, much has changed in the last four years, they say. At the very least, debate has undergone a paradigm shift.

"Today, we see none of the other nine candidates even dispute Khatami's views and slogans. This is very important,"presidential aide Mohammad Ali Abtahi told Reuters. "They say the president is not successful, but they do not say these slogans and plans are not good for the country ... Things are improving, but not very fast."

Khatami's nine opponents are a mixed bag of mostly conservative former ministers, an academic, a lawyer, a doctor and an admiral. While none of them can realistically challenge the unassailable Khatami, each appealing to a different section of society, together they could dent his support.

They have focused on attacking Khatami's economic performance, an area where he is perceived to be weak.

Diplomats say Khatami shows little interest in the economy, his eyes "glaze over" when the subject is brought up. While he vows to fight unemployment, his program is thin on detail.

Some have suggested Khatami form a coalition with the moderate right to buttress his sometimes shaky administration against conservative attempts to undermine it.

Abtahi rejected the idea.

"What we say is that Khatami has the people's vote, parliament has the people's vote and the nation has repeatedly announced what they want. We have the people's support, so why don't you give us a part of the power to be able to work."

Instead Khatami continually pounds the slogans of reform.

"We want a free, independent and progressive nation in line with moral and spiritual values," Khatami said on state radio.

These freedoms, his backers believe, are like one-way streets -- once traversed, there can be no return.

"I feel we are in a better situation now and the reform movement will be much deeper," said Abtahi. "People are now well informed of their rights and this is a one-way street."

Nevertheless, Khatami intends to tread carefully after the elections. He does not want his supporters to pay any of the high costs they paid during his first term.

"This is like a race where final goal is important, what happens in the middle of the journey is not," said Abtahi. "The speed is not important, the final results are."