We have spoken with Morteza Alviri, a prominent figure in the Executives of Construction Party (Hezbe Kargozarane Sazandegi) about the upcoming presidential election and the general position of the reformist camp. The interview is below.
Rooz (R): With about six months remaining for the presidential election in Iran, the reformists have not yet identified a candidate. What is your evaluation of the current situation of the reformist camp?
Morteza Alviri (MA): Until Mr. Mohammad Khatami makes his decision (about running or not in the elections) things will remain the same. Public opinion polls show that Mr. Khatami has an advantage over all other candidates, whether among reformists or the Principalist camp (as the ideologues are known in Iran), in terms of attracting popular vote. Many potential candidates are thus deferring their decision until after Khatami makes his. Some groups suggest Abdullah Nouri as their candidate but he too has not personally shown interest yet.
R: Do you think Mr. Khatami will run in the upcoming election? How do you evaluate the position of the reformists if he does not run?
MA: Mr. Khatami has serious concerns and it is very difficult for him to make a decision. His problems start after he is elected president. It is not easy to bring the country’s affairs to order after four years of indiscipline and absence of planning. What can convince Khatami to run is the concern that the country’s situation will further deteriorate so much so that it would be impossible to improve at all. I personally believe that the reformists must find a way of not wasting Khatami in this election. We must not simply think about winning the election, but also about events taking place after a victory.
R: What is the most important criticism you have regarding the campaign activities of reformers
MA: Many of our friends think that if they agree on one candidate, then it’s over, while that is not the case. In addition to agreeing on a single candidate, we must tell the electorate how we would solve economic problems and international crises. Reformers need to establish communication networks with their audience. The competitors have these networks (Basij, Friday prayers, radio and television, etc.) but the reformers have nothing other than a few publications and websites, which face the danger of being filtered or suspended. Under these circumstances we must have solutions for communicating with people and disseminating our message. We have presented several suggestions to our friends in this respect.
R: As the last question I want to ask you to compare the prominent reformer candidates currently under discussion (Khatami, Karoubi and Nouri).
MA: Mr. Khatami has the most potential for winning. In case Mr. Khatami does not run, Mr. Karoubi is next. Mr. Nouri is the best pick for reformers if they want to boycott the election [that is to protest his disqualification].
