DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran on Thursday opened a five-day registration period for candidates who want to run in the June 28 presidential election. Ebrahim Raisiwho was Died in helicopter crash Along with seven others earlier this month.
The election comes as Iran grapples with the aftermath of the May 19 crash, rising tensions between Tehran and the United States and protests over the 2022 Iranian death. Mahasa Amini It swept across the country.
More than 50 countries will hold elections in 2024
While Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 85, retains final say over all state affairs, successive presidents have steered the Islamic Republic towards greater ties and growing hostility with the West.
During the five-day period, people between the ages of 40 and 75 with a master's degree or higher can register as candidates. All candidates must ultimately be approved by Iran's 12-member Guardian Council, a committee of clerics and jurists that is ultimately overseen by Ayatollah Khamenei. For example, the council has never approved a woman, nor anyone calling for radical changes to the country's ruling system.
Raisi, a protégé of Khamenei, won Iran's 2021 presidential election after the Guardian Council disqualified all potential candidates running against him. The vote saw the lowest turnout in Iran's presidential election history, likely a reflection of voter discontent with both hardline clerics sanctioned by the U.S. for their role in mass executions in 1988 and Iran's Shiite theocracy that has endured more than four decades since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
It's unclear who might run and be accepted. The country's acting president, former behind-the-scenes bureaucrat Mohammed Mokbel, is a likely front-runner. He has already been spotted meeting with Khamenei. Also being discussed as a possible candidate is former hard-liner President Mohammed Ahmadinejad Former Reformed President Mohammed Khatami But whether they will be allowed to run is another matter.
The five-day registration period ends on Tuesday, after which the Guardian Council is expected to publish a final list of candidates within 10 days, allowing for a condensed two-week campaign before the vote in late June.
While a new president takes office, Iran continues to enrich near-weapons-grade uranium and obstruct international inspections. Armed Russia In the Ukrainian war, Drone and missile attacks on Israel middle The war in GazaTehran also Arming Middle Eastern proxy groupsThese include the Houthi rebels in Yemen and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Iran's economy has been struggling for years due to the collapse of its currency, the rial. Widespread protests have swept across the country, most recently over the death of Amini, who was arrested for refusing to wear a mandatory headscarf in defiance of authorities. A UN committee has said the Iranian government Responsible for “physical violence” This led to Amini's death.
Raisi is only the second Iranian president to die in office: Mohammed Ali Rajaei was killed in a bomb attack in 1981 during the turmoil that followed the Islamic Revolution.
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Amir Vadat contributed to this report from Tehran.
