(24 May 1997) English/Nat A leading academic in Middle Eastern affairs on Saturday described Mohammad Khatami's election victory in Iran as a victory for free and fair elections. However, Mary Jane Deeb said the moderate cleric's landslide win would not transform the country's political and religious climate although women might benefit from his victory. The editor of the Middle East Journal on Saturday welcomed the results of the Iranian elections. For the first time since the 1979 revolution - when the clergy ousted the U-S- backed Shah - Iranian voters were given a choice between hardline or moderate religious restrictions. They opted for moderation. Mohammad Khatami was elected president of Iran in a landslide victory - defeating the more hard-line Parliament Speaker Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri. And Mary Jane Deeb - also professor of international politics at the American University in Washington DC - said the results proved Iran could have free and fair elections. SOUNDBITE: (English) Well, I am very pleased. I am very happy for the Iranians themselves and it shows that first of all, the elections were free and fair. And that is a critical issue. A lot of people doubted that that was going to be the case. The second thing is that the Iranians voted in such large numbers and they expressed a very clear choice for a moderate candidate. And so, I think it is a very positive step that Iranians have taken. SUPER CAPTION: Mary Jane Deeb, Editor Middle East Journal Whether Khatami can liberalise Iranian policies depends on his ability to negotiate with conservative forces in Iran - namely the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But Deeb told APTV she believed Khatami may try to bring about moderate change. SOUNDBITE: (English) "We are not going to see a major transformation in the Islamic Republic. It is not going to become a secular state. What is going to change is more subtle. There appears to be a need for a more open cultural, social atmosphere in which first of all there will be less censorship on what is read, on what is seen in terms of films and television. And also there seems to be, at least his approach, a more liberal attitude towards women. SUPER CAPTION: Mary Jane Deeb, Editor Middle East Journal Nearly half of Iran's 60 (m) million population turned out to vote. Khatami received almost 21(m) million of the votes - nearly three times the number of votes won by Nateq-Nouri. That's been interpreted as a warning signal for the hardline clergy. SOUNDBITE: (English) "I think the Ayatollah and clerics have realised that the Iranians don't want that much pressure on them - religious pressure, social pressure on them - that they want their society to be more open, internally. I think that is recognised. Therefore, to go against the trend, would not simply be going against Khatami, it would be going against the will, general will, of a young generation who has voted overwhelmingly. And I don't think that they would do that. I think that they are quite astute and they know what they are doing. I don't think they will try to prevent the changes, albeit gradual changes." SUPER CAPTION: Mary Jane Deeb, Editor Middle East Journal Iran's youth - among Khatami's major supporters - hope he will ease the religious restrictions governing daily life. But Khatami's greatest challenge will be to tackle Iran's economy. Unemployment is high, and inflation is running at more than 24 percent. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/ecdbc20cbff80026f2d49e23acc155dd

• published: 21 Jul 2015
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