With Rouhani's win, Iranians seek reforms

Iranians came out in force to dance in the streets this weekend, breaking Islamic rules, to celebrate the re-election of President Hassan Rouhani by a large margin.

Emboldened by the election results, others gathered in the capital, Tehran, to begin demanding what they hope a second term for Rouhani will bring: the release of opposition figures, more freedom of thought and fewer restrictions on daily life.
Rouhani’s supporters also expect the victory to bolster his outreach efforts to the West and the pursuit of more foreign investment in Iran’s ailing economy. His win, with 57% of the vote, came the same weekend that US President Donald Trump was meeting with Saudi and other Arab leaders to discuss, in part, a strengthened alliance against Iran.

For those who had voted for Rouhani, there was a feeling of tremendous relief that his challenger, the hard-line cleric Ebrahim Raisi, who criticised the nuclear deal with the US and other Western powers, had lost. “Bye bye, Raisi,” the crowds chanted during the street gatherings.

The election outcome was widely seen as evidence that Iran’s society has changed radically over the past decades. Influenced by satellite television, cheaper international travel, the internet, waves of migration to big cities and access to higher education, most of Iranian society now adheres to middle-class values.

This collides with the reigning anti-Western ideology and strict interpretation of Islam that was represented by Raisi and promoted by state organisations.

The big question now is whether Rouhani will use his second term to focus on the economy, as he did after being elected in 2013, or whether he will also try to push the social reforms that his supporters are asking for.

“He faces a difficult task,” said Fazel Meybodi, a Shiite Muslim cleric from the city of Qom who supports reforms. He suggested that there were many more demands than Rouhani could handle.

But people in the capital wanted to celebrate the victory — and voice a call for action. The middle-class Iranians in the Tehran neighbourhoods who brought Rouhani his victory, often by waiting for hours in long lines at polling stations, drove their cars and played loud music in jubilation, often stopping to get out and dance, ignoring a ban on such gatherings.

Police officers simply stood by, often smiling. One officer, stationed in the northwestern Saadat Abad neighbourhood, told people in a passing car that this evening, everything was allowed. Pumping their fists in the air, the group — including middle-class families pushing baby strollers, hipster youths wearing John Lennon-style glasses and unemployed men with holes in their shoes — snaked through the streets in long lines. Here, too, the police stood by and did not interfere.

Thousands of others gathered at Tehran’s central Vali-e Asr Square, shouting political slogans and calling for the release of former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi; his wife, Zahra Rahnavard; and Mehdi Karroubi, a former speaker of parliament. Those opposition leaders have been under house arrest since 2011, without trial, after their involvement in the 2009 protests that disputed the election victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

“Now he must provide more freedoms, break the hard-line monopoly on the state-run radio and television, and increase freedom of press,” Meybodi said of Rouhani. To achieve all that, the president must persuade the hard-line-dominated judiciary and security forces to change their outlook, Meybodi said. “If he fails to deliver on at least 70% of those promises, his future is dark.”

On Friday, during the voting, many people said they were determined to keep Raisi out of office. “We are afraid he will laud in the return of the dark and difficult times we had before  Rouhani,” said Shaghal Akhari, 65, referring to the presidency of Ahmadinejad, whose two terms were defined by international crises and an atmosphere of heightened security inside the country. “We want to go forward, not backward,” she said.

At one point on Saturday, on Vali-e Asr Street, a woman with her two-year-old daughter led hundreds of people, egging them on to call for the release of the opposition leaders. Ever since the mass demonstrations of 2009, the woman said, she had felt suffocated.

The woman, who did not want to be identified for security reasons, said she had long lived with simmering anger over the state’s handling of the protests. This night, she said, all emotions came to the surface.

Iran’s interior ministry released a statement on Sunday emphasising that all street gatherings were banned, and called on those who wanted to hold victory celebrations to obtain permits for gatherings in closed-off venues.

The director of Rouhani’s campaign, Morteza Haji, also called on people to stay off the streets. “If there are plans for gatherings, after going through the necessary steps, we will announce the details,” he told the Iranian Student News Agency.


Validation of belief

It was clear that many felt validated by the re-election of the reformist Rouhani. On Sunday, posts on social media showed students at Tehran’s Amirkabir University of Technology shouting for the release of the opposition leaders. For those who voted for change, there was more to celebrate.

Iranian reformists and moderates swept the Tehran City Council elections, winning all 21 seats and removing all hard-liners, the Iranian news media reported. This will probably mean that the mayor, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who had challenged Rouhani in the presidential elections, will be removed in the coming months, analysts said. Reformists are also sweeping council seats in Mashhad, home to Raisi; in Karaj, a satellite city of Tehran; and in Yazd and Zahedan.

By now, Iran’s hard-liners are used to not winning the popular vote, but they are able to impose their views using centres of power under their control. Iranian activists are bracing for a possible wave of arrests, as happened after Rouhani was elected in 2013.

But the widespread popular support for Rouhani will no doubt be a boost for the re-elected president and his backers.
“There will be no reason for the judiciary to create obstacles for Rouhani if he manages to improve the economy,” said Saeed Laylaz, an economist who supports the president. “If he manages to appease the grass roots and poor, there is no way they can stop him from implementing other changes.”