The poll, originally scheduled for 2025, was brought forward to June 28 following the president’s death in a plane crash on May 19.
Iran has begun formally registering candidates ahead of next month’s presidential election to choose the successor to the late Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash earlier this month.
Elections were originally scheduled for 2025 but were brought forward to June 28 following Raisi’s death on May 19.
“Candidate registration for the 14th presidential election began at 8 am. [04:30 GMT] “…at the Ministry of Interior,” the state-run Iranian News Agency reported.
IRNA added that presidential candidates must register within five days.
Raisi and his seven-member entourage, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdullahian, were killed when their plane crashed into a mist-shrouded mountainside in northern Iran.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei then appointed Vice President Mohammed Mokbel, 68, as interim president, in accordance with the constitution.
30 applicants
State media reported on Thursday that “around 30 people” had submitted applications to run, but “none of them met the basic qualifications.”
Former reformist lawmaker Mostafa Kavakebian and conservative lawmaker Mohammadreza Sabbaghian submitted the application to the interior ministry, AFP reported.
According to Iran’s election law, candidates must be between 40 and 75 years old and have at least a master’s degree.
As in previous elections, the main candidates representing Iran’s main political camps are likely to submit their applications near the end of the registration process.
candidate
Among those reportedly considering running are conservative politician Saeed Djalili, who once served as chief nuclear negotiator under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani, the son of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
Former Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, a political ally of former President Hassan Rouhani, has also reportedly been asked to run.
Interim President Mokbar is also a possible candidate.
The final list of candidates is expected to be announced on June 11 by the Guardian Council, a 12-member body of jurists appointed or approved by the supreme leader.
The body disqualified several reformist figures ahead of the 2021 presidential election, which ultimately led to the victory of ultra-conservative Raisi.
Turnout for the presidential election was the lowest ever, at just 48.8% of all voters.
The June vote comes at a turbulent time amid an escalating Gaza war between Iran’s arch enemy Israel and the Iran-backed Palestinian group Hamas, and ongoing diplomatic tensions over Iran’s nuclear program.
