Iran’s interior ministry has announced the approval of six candidates for the upcoming presidential election, scheduled for June 28. This announcement comes following the tragic death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. The candidates were selected from a pool of 80 registered hopefuls by the Guardian Council, the body responsible for overseeing elections in the Islamic republic.
The approved candidates predominantly consist of conservatives, reflecting the political landscape in Iran. Among them are Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the conservative speaker of parliament, and Saeed Jalili, an ultraconservative former nuclear negotiator. Massoud Pezeshkian, representing Tabriz in Iran’s parliament and known as a reformist candidate, is the sole representative from the reformist camp to be approved.
Other conservative candidates include Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a former interior minister, Alireza Zakaani, the conservative mayor of Tehran, and Amirhossein Ghazizadeh-Hashemi, the incumbent vice president and head of the Martyrs’ Foundation.
Notably, former hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was disqualified from previous presidential races in 2017 and 2021, has once again been excluded from the list of approved candidates. Similarly, moderate figures such as Ali Larijani, a former parliament speaker, and Vahid Haghanian, a former Revolutionary Guards commander, were also barred from standing.
The Guardian Council’s decisions in the 2021 elections also saw disqualifications of multiple reformist and moderate candidates, ultimately leading to the election of the ultraconservative Raisi. The 2021 elections witnessed a record low turnout of 48.8 percent, indicating challenges in voter engagement and participation.
The upcoming presidential election will be closely watched both domestically and internationally, as Iran navigates its political landscape following Raisi’s untimely demise. The approved candidates will vie for the presidency in a competitive electoral environment, shaping Iran’s trajectory in the coming years.
Sources By Agencies
