TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei endorsed reformist Mohammad Khatami as president for a second four-year term on Thursday, but warned against straying from the path of Islam and the perils of liberalism.
President Khatami, re-elected with a landslide 77 percent of the vote in June, is to formally begin his second term when he takes an oath of office in parliament on August 5.
"I confirm the people's vote and appoint him as president," said a statement by Khamenei read out at a ceremony at the leader's residence. But the approval was not without qualification.
"My endorsement of the people's vote is valid as long as he continues in the path of Islam and stands against the arrogant enemies."
Khamenei occupies the key position in Iran's complex political structure. He heads the armed forces and is the final arbiter in both religious and political matters. He also directly appoints many top state officials such as the judiciary chief and half the 12-man Guardian Council.
The leader sat on a chair flanked by the president and chief confidante Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani who squatted cross-legged on cushions. Other senior state officials sat on the ground facing the leader's dais.
Khamenei warned of the dangers of liberalism and defended judiciary hardliners opposed to political and social reforms.
"Liberalism is promoted by our enemies...we must stand against it," Khamenei said. "Liberalism is a manifestation of the enemy's cultural onslaught against us."
He also called for tougher state action against "corruption and immorality."
"Immorality cannot be stopped by word of mouth alone," said Khamenei.
Public floggings for moral offences -- usually for the possession of alcohol or indulging in illicit sexual relations -- have increased in recent weeks as judges seek to crackdown on the laxity conservatives say has resulted from Khatami's rule.
PEOPLE'S RIGHTS
The next test for the often-embattled president will be getting a new cabinet approved by parliament which he must do within two weeks of taking oath. Many of his supporters expect him to choose a more reformist cabinet to press on with his efforts to renew the Islamic Republic.
The soft-spoken, mid-ranking cleric has been locked in a sometimes bitter struggle with conservatives entrenched in the political establishment who are opposed to his reforms.
"The president who is chosen by the people has a heavy duty towards them," Khatami said in a speech at the ceremony. "The people's right to oversee, to criticise and to protest is a fundamental and inalienable right.
"Every individual must be able to speak his mind without fear."
Khatami called for greater cooperation between the sometimes feuding arms of the state, government, parliament and judiciary.
"The success of the president depends on the role of the leader, on the harmony with the other branches of power and the cooperation of all political factions," he said.
Many political groups are vying for appointments to Khatami's new cabinet, demanding positions in exchange for backing the president's re-election bid.
But nominees are likely to face less opposition than they did in 1997, because parliament is now dominated by reformists.
At a recent meeting of the Islamic Iran Participation Front's parliamentary faction, the biggest reformist party, a majority of the 120 deputies said they wanted new faces for the health, education, finance and telecommunications ministries.
Several reformist MPs would also like radical changes in the defence, intelligence and foreign ministries but cannot press Khatami too hard on the issue as Ayatollah Khamenei has traditionally enjoyed a veto on nominees for these portfolios.
06:37 08-02-01
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