Iran elections: hardliners, reformists and women among 80 who have registered for presidential race

Iran’s Guardian Council is assessing candidates standing for president in the election on June 28th to replace Ebrahim Raisi, who died last month in a helicopter crash.

In advance of Monday’s deadline, 43 people rushed to register their candidacy, bringing the total to 80, including four women. The council must decide the final list of candidates – who normally number between four and 10 – by June 11th. A two-week campaign will involve rallies and television debates.

Iranian law mandates that candidates must be between 40 and 75 years old and have at least a master’s degree, four years of experience in state administration, and no criminal record.

Leading the legion of hopefuls is Iran’s hardline conservative parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. He pledges to complete the work of Mr Raisi which, he said, is “now at the stage of fruition”. A former Tehran mayor, Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRG) general and national police chief who cracked down on protests in 1999 and 2003, Mr Qalibaf appears to enjoy the support of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ultimately decides policy.

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The conservative candidates also include former populist president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is likely to be disqualified, head of Iran’s top security agency Saeed Jalili, and former IRG commander Vahid Haghanian who is an ally of the Ayatollah’s son Mojtaba.

Although women have previously been banned from standing, Zohreh Elahian, a former parliament member, has registered. Prompted by charges of corruption and mismanagement against the conservative establishment, she has adopted the slogan “healthy Government, healthy economy, and healthy society”.

The standard-bearer of the centrists and reformists is former parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, who promoted the 2015 deal curbing Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. The agreement was regarded as the route to normalising ties between the region and the West until US president Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018.

Eshaq Jahangiri – who was deputy to former president Hassan Rouhani – and former central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati are among the high-profile candidates from the reformist side of the political spectrum.

While conservatives form the majority of candidates, centrists and reformists were permitted to register with the aim of encouraging a respectable turnout which, commentators argue, could boost the legitimacy of the faltering clerical system. In the 2021 presidential poll turnout was at an all-time low of 48.8 per cent – reduced to 42 per cent by spoiled ballots – while participation had previously ranged from 60-80 per cent.

[ Scramble to be Raisi’s replacement could be unseemly, but Iran’s regime won’t soften ]

During Monday’s televised address on the 35th anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic republic, Ayatollah Khamenei called for “epic” participation.

The clerics’ right to rule was severely challenged during 2022 when nationwide demonstrations erupted over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested after she allegedly failed to wear her headscarf as laid down by law. The protests were fuelled by economic discontent and repression and elicited a crushing clampdown.

“This election represents a critical juncture for Iran, offering an opportunity to redefine its domestic and international policies and address complex challenges, such as economic sanctions and regional tensions,” wrote the state-run Tehran Times.

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