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,[1] including 25 women,[2] the Guardian Council reduced it to ten.
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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] According to CNN, Khatami's aides described his campaign as a "referendum for reform".[8] Most of Khatami's nine other challengers were independent conservatives, according to BBC.[9]
