Iran
People walk in front of an installation in the form of a giant ballot box, ahead of the upcoming elections, in Tehran on February 28, 2024. Photo: ATTA KENARE/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran on Sunday approved six candidates for a presidential election to replace Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash.
The six people approved to stand for election are parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, former interior minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Massoud Pezeshkian, Alireza Zakaani, and Amirhossein Ghazizadeh-Hashemi, according to state media IRNA.
The candidates were announced from a pool of 80 people who registered earlier this month to run for the position.
The Guardian Council, a powerful body of 12 clerics, approves the candidates’ eligibility before their candidacy is made final. It is here where the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei can use his influence to bar any candidate.
The list is dominated by conservative figures with only Pezeshkian coming from the reformist front. Pezeshkian was openly critical of Tehran’s lack of transparency during nationwide protests that erupted after the death of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini in police custody in 2022.
Former President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad was disqualified from the race. It was the third time the conservative politician was barred from running. He was previously disqualified in 2021 and 2017.
Khamenei assigned Vice President Mohammed Mokhber to assume interim duties following the death of Raisi last month. Mohber will remain president until the election.
Under Iranian law, in case of the death of a president, a new presidential election must be held within 50 days.
The six people approved to stand for election are parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, former interior minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Massoud Pezeshkian, Alireza Zakaani, and Amirhossein Ghazizadeh-Hashemi, according to state media IRNA.
The candidates were announced from a pool of 80 people who registered earlier this month to run for the position.
The Guardian Council, a powerful body of 12 clerics, approves the candidates’ eligibility before their candidacy is made final. It is here where the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei can use his influence to bar any candidate.
The list is dominated by conservative figures with only Pezeshkian coming from the reformist front. Pezeshkian was openly critical of Tehran’s lack of transparency during nationwide protests that erupted after the death of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini in police custody in 2022.
Former President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad was disqualified from the race. It was the third time the conservative politician was barred from running. He was previously disqualified in 2021 and 2017.
Khamenei assigned Vice President Mohammed Mokhber to assume interim duties following the death of Raisi last month. Mohber will remain president until the election.
Under Iranian law, in case of the death of a president, a new presidential election must be held within 50 days.
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