(Reuters) – Iranians will hold a presidential election on Friday to choose a successor to Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash, in a vote expected to favour security hardliners who share Raisi's uncompromising anti-Western views.
While the president runs the day-to-day affairs of the country, real power on issues such as Iran's nuclear program and foreign policy lies with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who analysts say wants a trustworthy and fiercely loyal president.
Here are the details of the voting process:
Iran's hardline constitutional watchdog, the Guardian Council, has approved five hardliners and one moderate candidate to run in the presidential election out of 80 registered candidates.
The council, which vets candidates' political and Islamic qualifications, is a 12-member committee of clerics appointed by the supreme leader and Islamic jurists nominated by the head of the judiciary and approved by parliament.
– To qualify as a presidential candidate, a candidate must be an Iranian citizen of Iranian origin, be considered a prominent politician or religious figure, and have an unblemished record of piety and loyalty to the Islamic Republic.
– The Guardian Council has banned women from running for president, but some prelates and human rights lawyers say the constitution does not exclude women.
– All Iranians over the age of 18 have the right to vote, meaning that more than 61 million of Iran’s population of over 85 million are eligible to vote.
– Because all votes are counted manually, partial results may be released sooner, but final results may not be released for two days.
– If no candidate receives at least 50% of the total votes, including blank votes, plus one, a runoff election will be held on the first Friday after the election results are announced, between the top two candidates.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by William MacLean)
