Iran said Sunday it had approved six candidates, mostly conservatives, to run in June 28 elections to replace President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash.
The candidates announced by the Interior Ministry were chosen from among 80 candidates registered by the Guardian Council, which oversees elections in the Islamic Republic.
Between…
Iran said Sunday it had approved six candidates, mostly conservatives, to run in June 28 elections to replace President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash.
The candidates announced by the Interior Ministry were chosen from among 80 candidates registered by the Guardian Council, which oversees elections in the Islamic Republic.
Among those approved are conservative Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf and ultra-conservative former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.
Only one reformist candidate has been approved: Massoud Pezeshkian, who represents Tabriz in the Iranian parliament.
Conservative former interior minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi was also approved to run.
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Others on the list include Tehran's conservative mayor Alireza Zakaani and Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, the ultraconservative head of the Martyrs' Foundation and the current vice president.
Former hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was disqualified from running for president in 2017 and 2021, was also not included on the list.
Other lawmakers, including moderate former parliament speaker Ali Larijani and former commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, Vahid Haganian, were also barred from running.
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The Guardian Council disqualified several reformists and moderates ahead of the 2021 presidential elections that brought ultra-conservative Raisi to power.
Turnout in these elections was the lowest ever for a presidential poll, at 48.8%.
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