Presidential elections were held in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

on 11 June 1993, which resulted in the re-election of the incumbent

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ( fa, اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی, Akbar Hāshemī Rafsanjānī, born Akbar Hashemi Bahramani, 25 August 1934 – 8 January 2017) was an Iranian politician, writer, and one of the founding fathers of the Islami ...

. Rafsanjani's vote declined dramatically in comparison to the previous election amid a lower turnout. According to

Anoushiravan Ehteshami Anoushiravan "Anoush" Ehteshami ( fa, انوشیروان احتشامی) is the Professor and Joint Director of the ESRC Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World at Durham University. Ehteshami is the Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah Chair in ...

, "little separated the candidates from each other" and "real choices and real alternatives" were absent. Out of 128 candidates who registered to run, only 4 were approved. The voter turnout was roughly half of all registered voters at 16,796,787. Discontent with the economic situation and

voter apathy In political science, voter apathy is a lack of interest among voters in the elections of representative democracies. Voter apathy or lack of interest is often cited as a cause of low turnout among eligible voters in jurisdictions where vot ...

are the other reasons cited for the relatively low turnout in the election.

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

reported an independent survey have found "the bulk of those who stayed away did so because they were displeased with the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

or did not believe their vote would make any difference to the government."

Campaign

Iran Presidental Elections 1993 Ballot paper

None of the candidates enjoyed comparable stature to the incumbent president. Economic situation was the main issue in the elections. Rafsanjani, whose

economic liberalization Economic liberalization (or economic liberalisation) is the lessening of government regulations and restrictions in an economy in exchange for greater participation by private entities. In politics, the doctrine is associated with classical liber ...

and

privatisation Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

policies were ongoing, said he will concentrate on economics and 'reconstruction effort', despite the deteriorated situation. Economist

Ahmad Tavakkoli Ahmad Tavakkoli (; born 5 March 1951) is an Iranian conservative and principlist politician, journalist. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment Council. Also he is currently managing-director of ''Alef'' news website and founder of t ...

also ran on a platform of

economic reform Microeconomic reform (or often just economic reform) comprises policies directed to achieve improvements in economic efficiency, either by eliminating or reducing distortions in individual sectors of the economy or by reforming economy-wide polici ...

and more

benefits Benefit or benefits may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Benefit'' (album), by Jethro Tull, 1970 * "Benefits" (''How I Met Your Mother''), a 2009 TV episode * '' The Benefit'', a 2012 Egyptian action film Businesses and organisatio ...

for the working-class. The Freedom Movement and the Nation Party, called to boycott the election due to "lack of fundamental freedoms and the denial of official recognition to most political parties".Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Iran: Chronology of Events: June 1989 - July 1994, 1 January 1995, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a8170.html ccessed 6 May 2016/ref>

Candidates

Disqualified candidates

The

Guardian Council The Guardian Council, (also called Council of Guardians or Constitutional Council, fa, شورای نگهبان, Shourā-ye Negahbān) is an appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence i ...

disqualified some candidates who enrolled to run for president, including: *

Ebrahim Yazdi Ebrahim Yazdi ( fa, ابراهیم یزدی; 26 September 1931 – 27 August 2017) was an Iranian politician, pharmacist, and diplomat who served as deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs in the interim government of Mehdi Bazarga ...

, Head of Political Bureau of

Freedom Movement of Iran The Freedom Movement of Iran (FMI) or Liberation Movement of Iran (LMI; fa, نهضت آزادی ايران, Nahżat-e āzādi-e Irān) is an Iranian pro-democracy political organization founded in 1961, by members describing themselves as "Muslim ...

Results

References

Presidential elections in Iran 1993 elections in Iran June 1993 events in Asia

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