Iran on Thursday began the formal registration of presidential candidates ahead of a snap election scheduled for next month.
This unexpected vote comes in the wake of the tragic death of President Ebrahim Raisi, who perished in a helicopter crash.
“Candidate registration for the 14th presidential elections began at 8 am (0430 GMT)… at the interior ministry,” the official IRNA news agency reported.
Presidential hopefuls will have a five-day window to register, according to IRNA.
Initially set for 2025, the elections were expedited following Raisi’s untimely death on May 19. Raisi, along with seven members of his entourage, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, died when their aircraft crashed into a fog-covered mountainside in northern Iran.
In response to the crisis, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, appointed Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, 68, as caretaker president, in line with constitutional protocols.
State TV reported on Thursday that “around 30 people” came forward to submit their candidacies, but “none of them met the basic conditions for qualification.”
An AFP correspondent observed former reformist lawmaker Mostafa Kavakebian and incumbent conservative parliamentarian Mohammadreza Sabaghian submitting their applications at the interior ministry.
According to Iran’s electoral law, candidates must be between the ages of 40 and 75 and possess at least a master’s degree.
As in previous election cycles, it is anticipated that the main candidates representing Iran’s dominant political factions will submit their applications closer to the end of the registration period.
The Guardian Council, a 12-member body of jurists appointed or approved by the supreme leader, will announce the final list of candidates on June 11. This council previously disqualified multiple reformist and moderate figures in the 2021 presidential elections, leading to the rise of the ultraconservative Raisi.
The 2021 elections saw a historic low turnout, with only 48.8 percent of eligible voters casting their ballots.
This upcoming June vote is set against a backdrop of significant turmoil, marked by the ongoing Gaza conflict between Israel, Iran’s arch-foe, and the Tehran-supported Palestinian militant group Hamas. Additionally, diplomatic tensions over Iran’s nuclear program continue to add to the country’s volatile political climate.
