1997 presidential election The movement began with the May 23, 1997, surprise victory of
Mohammad Khatami, "a little known cleric", to the presidency on with almost 70% of the vote. Khatami is regarded as Iran's first
reformist president, since the focus of his campaign was on the
rule of law,
democracy and the inclusion of all Iranians in the political decision-making process.
Assassination attempt on Saeed Hajjarian Very soon after the rise of the 2nd of Khordad movement, there was an attempted
assassination of
Saeed Hajjarian, the main strategist of the reformist camp. In March 2000, he was shot in the face on the doorstep of
Tehran's city council by a gunman who fled on a motorcycle with an accomplice. The bullet entered through his left cheek and lodged in his neck. He was not killed but was "badly paralyzed" for some time. During his coma, groups of young Iranians kept a vigil outside Sina hospital, where he was being treated. Due to this injury, Hajjarian now uses a walking frame, and his voice is distorted. His convicted assailant
Saeed Asgar, a young man who was reported to be a member of the
Basij militia, served only a small part of his 15-year jail sentence.
1999 local elections Reformist candidates did remarkably well in the 1999 local elections and received 75% of the vote.
18th of Tir crisis (1999) The 18th of Tir (July 9) crisis, refers to a demonstration in Tehran University dormitory in reaction to closing
Salam newspaper by the government. Demonstrations continued for a few days in most cities in Iran and in more than ninety-five countries worldwide. The demonstration ended in violence and the death of a young Iranian citizen along with many casualties. At the time, it was Iran's biggest antigovernment demonstrations since the 1979 Islamic revolution. After attacking of the students of Tehran University by hardline vigilante group, Khatami delivered a speech three months later while defending of his reform programme and at the same time he insisted on the foundations of his government. He referred to the reformation of system from within with holding two elements of Islamic and republic. According to journalist
Afshin Molavi, many Iranians hoped the day would lead to an uprising that would "break the back" of the hardliners, but instead the Islamic Republic "employed violence, intimidation, and sophisticated carrot-and-stick approach to suck the wind out of the demonstrations." In addition to a show of force and numerous checkpoints, the state used sophisticated jamming technology to block satellite TV feeds and allowed the holding of (rare) outdoor pop concerts to draw young people away from the demonstrations. Dartar-e Tahkim-e-Vahdat also hurt its cause by calling for foreigners, specifically the
UN - to assist it against the government.
6th Parliament (2000) In the
Iranian parliamentary elections, 2000 to elect the 6th parliament, reformist enjoyed a majority (69.25%), or 26.8 million, of the 38.7 million voters who cast ballots in the February 18, 2000 first round. Ultimately reformists won 195 of the 290 Majlis seats in that election.
27 Khordad presidential election (2005) , a reformist candidate in the 2005 elections In the
27 Khordad presidential election (June 17, 2005),
Mostafa Moin and
Mehdi Karroubi were the main candidates of the 2nd of Khordad movement. However, neither made it to the second round of the election (the final runoff): Moin came in fifth and Karroubi third in the first round. As a result, many supporters of the reform movement lost hope and did not participate in the election.
2009 Iranian presidential election The two leading reformist candidates in the
2009 presidential election were
Mir-Hossein Mousavi and
Mehdi Karroubi. Mousavi supporters disbelieved the election results and initiated a series of protests that lasted several days. After many days of protesting against the election results, the protests eventually turned violent as the
Basij (loyal militia to the Islamic Republic) started attacking the protesters and vice versa. Some protesters turned their anger to the government itself and tried to overthrow the Islamic Republic. The protests, in general, lasted up to several months. He secured nearly 16.4 million of the more than 30 million votes cast, beating his main rival
Saeed Jalili, who received approximately 13.5 million in a run-off election, according to the official count. The election was generally seen as an upset victory for the Reformists' faction with many political observers expecting low voter turnout. ==Obstacles to the Movement ==