"The problem we have long faced and also covers the Khatami administration is that factional strife would never solve the problems," Shamkhani was quoted as saying in the daily Siasat-e Rouz, close to the conservatives.

"The difference between me and the other candidates is that a president needs two specific characteristics: the authority to manage and take decisions firmly and quickly, and trust. To be successful, this authority must be trusted by all the elites within the society," he said, adding, "This means I would have the authority to take action instead of mouthing slogans."

Shamkhani dismissed as unreasonable the calls that he has been told by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to bid for elections.

"But, since as a military man I should have been permitted by the commander-in-chief of all forces and powers (Ayatollah Khamenei who has a final say on all state affairs), I asked his permission and he authorized me for elections," he said.

"I regret if the reformists claim that I have been pressed to run for president," the reformist daily Seday-e Edalat quoted him as saying.

At the same time, he spoke out firmly against a military government, expressing regret for the fact that 80 percent of the governments in the Middle East are military.

He also rejected rumors that a military man cannot run for president and noted: "Who has said that a military man cannot become president and only clerics are allowed for such a post?"

Shamkhani also said that he is not affiliated to any party or grouping. "I am totally independent and do not belong to any group."

Asked who is expected to win the polls, Shamkhani said, "The elections whose result is clear cannot be called an election."

President Mohammad Khatami is expected to win the polls. Although none of his nine mostly conservative rivals have a realistic chance of beating Khatami, collectively they could split the votes.

Other contenders in the race are Vice President Mostafa Hashemi-Taba, former vice president Mansur Razavi and three former ministers -- Ahmad Tavakoli, Hassan Ghafuri-Fard and Ali Fallahian. The list also includes former MP Shahabeddin Sadr, conservative academic Abdollah Jasbi and lawyer Mahmud Kashani.

Khatami came to office in 1997 with nearly 70 percent of popular votes, accounting for more than 20 million out of the roughly 29 million ballots cast.

Shamkhani described Khatami as his "most sincere friend," noting, nonetheless, it was necessary to "act with concrete measures, not with slogans" and "partisan management."

He declined to condemn the mass arrest of over 40 dissidents who are said to be kept under the eye of the armed forces. "House of detention and geographical position is not important. The fact that they have been jailed on the orders of the judiciary is important."

Asked to comment on the mass closure of over 40 newspapers and the arrests of dozens of journalists over the last year, Shamkhani said it was a matter for the "judiciary."

... Payvand News - 5/23/01 ... --