Candidate registration for Iran's June 28 presidential election began on Thursday, with some candidates releasing videos on social media to demonstrate grassroots support.
Aides and supporters of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had posted several similar videos before registration began.
in Poor video The photo, posted by an aide to former President Ahmadinejad, shows the former president surrounded by a small group of supporters from Gilan province outside his home in the Narmak district of east Tehran. One supporter is seen pleading with Ahmadinejad to announce his candidacy to help lead the country out of its current predicament. The man claims that thousands of people would have come to his house if they had known about the meeting.
In another video, which has since been deleted, a group of people from the city of Jarom in Fars province gather in the same place and make the same demand. Ahmadinejad again sums up the situation and says he is considering whether to register it, which may mean he is waiting for permission from Khamenei.
President Ahmadinejad is considered popular for his criticism of the establishment, but voter turnout has plummeted in recent elections, keeping most voters away from the ballot box in both 2021 and 2024. Official statistics for the March 1 parliamentary elections reported a 40% turnout, but many believe the actual figure is lower. Voters are increasingly disillusioned and question whether a highly choreographed election can address serious economic difficulties. Inflation is hovering around 50% and the country's currency is near an all-time low.
On Thursday, One video showed a group of supporters of former nuclear negotiator Said Jalili. I waited for him in front of the Ministry of the Interior. Another video showed him arriving to register. His candidacy.
Meanwhile, Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakhani's team appears to have made a PR blunder by urging everyone to encourage Zakhani to register. Twitter user Mohammed Parsi quoted the statement. Writing in Jahan News, he wrote that Zakhani had in fact offered to be a candidate himself.
Meanwhile, some candidates are trying to generate excitement and speculation about their participation in the election, and to generate interest and anticipation for their candidacy.
Reformers have been doing the same thing by creating tension over the past week, but finally They will only take part in the elections if the government accepts their conditions. The main condition set by the Reform Front is that the government and the Guardian Council must accept at least one of the candidates independently recommended by the Reform Front.
Many “reformist” activists on social media called the decision, which came after a five-hour meeting on Wednesday night, “wise.” Others advised that so-called reformist figures close to the core of the government, such as Massoud Pezeshkian, should not be nominated as the Front's candidate. Pezeshkian, who was denied eligibility to run in the parliamentary elections in March, was later allowed to run after Khamenei instructed the Guardian Council to avert a decision on him. He registered as a candidate on Saturday, but it is unclear whether the “reformists” will nominate him as a candidate.
Another “reformist” figure who does not enjoy the support of the Reform Front is Mostofa Kavakebian, leader of the Mardom Salari party. [Democracy] An inconspicuous reformist party with no clear policy platform.
Journalist and political activist Sajjad Abedi tweeted on May 30:: “It is interesting that there is no campaign yet calling for him to come forward as a presidential candidate. I am sure he will surprise all those who have been running his early campaigns,” Abedi said, referring to acting President Mohamed Mokbel. Minister of Roads Mehrdad Bazlpash He was present at meetings between Khamenei and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who visited Tehran this week.
