Iran Approves Six Candidates for Presidential Election After Raisi's Death
TEHRAN: Iran on Sunday announced six candidates approved for the June 28 election to replace President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash. The Guardian Council, which oversees elections in Iran, selected the candidates from 80 registered hopefuls. The approved candidates include conservative speaker of parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, ultraconservative former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, and conservative former interior minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi.
TEHRAN: Iran on Sunday announced six candidates approved for the June 28 election to replace President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash.
The Guardian Council, which oversees elections in Iran, selected the candidates from 80 registered hopefuls.
The approved candidates include conservative speaker of parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, ultraconservative former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, and conservative former interior minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi.
Reformist lawmaker Massoud Pezeshkian from Tabriz is the only reformist candidate approved.
Others on the list are conservative Tehran mayor Alireza Zakaani and incumbent vice president Amirhossein Ghazizadeh-Hashemi, the ultraconservative head of the Martyrs' Foundation.
Former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was again excluded from running, along with moderate ex-parliament speaker Ali Larijani and former Revolutionary Guards commander Vahid Haghanian.
The previous 2021 elections saw multiple reformist and moderate figures disqualified, leading to a record low turnout of 48.8 percent.