Interior Minister: Official Actions for Holding Elections Will Begin in December

The Interior Minister of Iran announced that official actions for holding the presidential and council elections in 2017 will begin in December, and the atmosphere in the country will be "effectively electoral" from the second half of this year. According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli stated on Sunday, July 25, that "we will officially start the elections from December this year, and the atmosphere in the country will effectively be electoral from the second half of this year." He added, "Everyone should focus on ensuring that the elections are legal, healthy, and secure." Meanwhile, the head of the Council and Interior Affairs Commission of the Parliament said that if the presidential elections are held on May 17, 2017, the election headquarters will begin its work from January. Mohammad Javad Kolivand announced that the focus of the commission members will be more on overseeing the elections of city and village councils. The presidential elections and the Islamic councils of cities and villages will be held in 2017, and while the oversight of the presidential elections is the responsibility of the Guardian Council, the selected committee of the Parliament will oversee the council elections. The Ministry of Interior has suggested that these two elections be held on May 17 due to the coincidence of Ramadan and June 2017. In this regard, Abbasali Kadkhodai, the spokesperson for the Guardian Council, announced on Saturday, July 24, that the Ministry of Interior's proposal will be further examined in the executive department of the Guardian Council. If the elections go to a second round, Rouhani will "fail." In recent months, some conservative media have claimed that Hassan Rouhani's presidency will be limited to one term. In this regard, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, a conservative figure and Secretary-General of the Islamic Engineers' Friday Prayer, stated in an interview with the Asr Iran website published on Sunday that Rouhani's victory in next year's elections depends on creating economic prosperity in the country. He also predicted that if next year's presidential elections go to a second round, Mr. Rouhani will "fail." This former parliament member continued that "it does not matter who [runs against Rouhani] in the elections, as society is fundamentally eager for change." Mr. Bahonar also stated that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former president of Iran, intends to run in next year's elections but added that it is not "in his interest" to do so. Mr. Bahonar had announced on Tuesday, July 11, that conservatives have an important condition for supporting Hassan Rouhani in the upcoming presidential elections, which is the government's success in economic matters. Iranian media have named Saeed Jalili, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Gholamali Haddad Adel, Ezzatollah Zarghami, and Ahmad Tavakoli as potential rivals to Mr. Rouhani in the 2017 presidential elections. Additionally, Hesamoddin Ashna, an advisor to Hassan Rouhani, published a text on his Twitter in June that some websites linked to the potential candidacy of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the IRGC, in the 2017 presidential elections. Mr. Ashna wrote: "Let Haj Qassem remain at the peak of the legendary defense of the sanctity and shrine, let us not drag him into the campaign like Mohsen and Baqer with keys and pliers." The advisor to the Iranian president later tweeted that the previous post was "a heartfelt note resulting from being moved by Qassem Soleimani's heavenly speech" and "a compassionate concern" about Mohsen Rezaei and Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. Meanwhile, reports have also emerged regarding the possibility of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad running in next year's presidential elections, which has triggered reactions from some political figures. In this context, Akbar Turkan, a senior advisor to Hassan Rouhani, referred to Mr. Ahmadinejad as "a burnt-out figure," and Ali Motahari, a representative from Tehran, stated that he should be "tried before running."