Reform Candidate Withdraws in Iran - NYTimes.com - 0 views
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Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mir Hossein Mousavi Mohammad Khatami Saeed Leylaz
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Reversing a decision made five weeks ago, Mohammad Khatami, Iran’s reformist former president, has decided to withdraw from the June presidential race to support a political ally, the country’s semiofficial news agency reported Tuesday.
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The Fars news agency on Tuesday quoted a statement from Mr. Khatami that said, “I announce my withdrawal from candidacy.”
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“He does not want to compete with Mir-Hussein Moussavi,” said Mr. Leylaz, referring to a former prime minister who announced last week that he would run in the presidential election on June 12. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected to seek re-election.
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“The most important goal is to prevent Mr. Ahmadinejad from re-election, not to get Mr. Khatami elected,” Mr. Leylaz said. “The chances of getting a reformist president elected would decrease if we have several candidates running.”
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In the meeting on Sunday, Mr. Khatami told campaign staff members that Mr. Moussavi might stand a better chance of winning than he would, the Mehr news agency reported.“Opponents want to divide my supporters and supporters of Moussavi,” Mr. Khatami was quoted as saying. “It is not in our interest. Also, some conservatives are supporting Moussavi.”He added, “Moussavi is popular and will be able to execute his plans, and I prefer he stays in the race.”
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Mr. Leylaz said that Mr. Moussavi’s announcement to run came unexpectedly last week, even though Mr. Khatami had consulted with him before announcing his own bid for the office on Feb. 8. Before the announcement, Mr. Khatami had said that he would run only if Mr. Moussavi did not, to avoid diluting the reformist vote.“Mr. Khatami was offended and felt betrayed,” Mr. Leylaz said.
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Mr. Khatami, 65, won a landslide victory in 1997 and was in office for two terms until 2005. A charismatic leader, he was expected to draw considerable support in the coming election. More than 20,000 supporters showed up at his speech last week in the southern city of Shiraz, despite government restrictions.
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Mr. Moussavi was the country’s prime minister from 1980 to 1988. He is well remembered by many Iranians for managing the country during its eight-year war with Iraq. His presidential platform is not yet clear, but in the past he supported protectionist economic policies.
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Mr. Ahmadinejad is supported by the conservative Iranian establishment, but his economic policies have unleashed inflation of over 25 percent, and two major setbacks last week suggested that he might be losing support ahead of elections.
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Last week, Parliament rejected a major element of his proposed budget to cut energy subsidies and to distribute the money directly among the poor.