Registration for Presidential Election Closed with 80 Candidates

The registration of candidates for Iran's early presidential election entered its final day on Monday, June 4, and by the end of the designated time, 43 individuals had successfully registered. Thus, over five days, the total number of candidates reached 80. This comes as the latest official reports indicated that 37 individuals had registered by Sunday. This election is being held to replace Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed on May 20 along with the foreign minister and six others in a helicopter crash in East Azerbaijan. Hours after the candidate registration office opened at the Ministry of Interior, several former members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, former government ministers, and officials registered. Iranian news agencies reported on Monday afternoon that Eshaq Jahangiri, the first vice president of Hassan Rouhani's government, also registered for candidacy in this election. Mr. Jahangiri, a member of the Construction Party, had also run in the 2017 elections but ultimately withdrew in favor of Hassan Rouhani. He registered again for the 2021 presidential election, but the Guardian Council disqualified him this time. Reports from Iranian news agencies indicate that Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, also entered the Ministry of Interior's election headquarters on Monday afternoon and registered. Mr. Qalibaf, in addition to his experience as a representative and Speaker of the 11th Assembly, has served as the Mayor of Tehran (from September 2007 to September 2017), Commander of the Law Enforcement Force, and Commander of the Aerospace Force of the IRGC. Meanwhile, Mohammad Reza Aref, the first vice president of Mohammad Khatami's government and a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, announced that he would not register for the election. He stated that he would soon announce the reasons for his decision not to register. Another figure who registered on Monday was Mostafa Pourmohammadi, the Minister of Interior in the ninth government and the current Secretary-General of the Combatant Clergy Association. Mostafa Pourmohammadi, who was one of the four members of the 'Death Committee' that issued execution orders for political prisoners during the summer of 1988 in Iran, had participated in this year's Assembly of Experts elections from the Tehran constituency but did not win. Mohammad Mahdi Zahedi, a former Minister of Science, also registered for candidacy in the 14th presidential election at the Ministry of Interior's election headquarters. Meanwhile, the 'Emtidad' website reported that Zahra Ahmadipour, the Vice President and Head of the Cultural Heritage Organization in Hassan Rouhani's first government, went to the election headquarters but was not allowed to register. In the final hours of the last day of registration for candidates in Iran's 14th presidential election, Mehrdad Bazrpash also appeared at the Ministry of Interior's election headquarters and registered. He, who is close to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and became the Minister of Housing and Urban Development in Raisi's government, was in one of the two other helicopters on the day of the helicopter crash that killed Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage. Contrary to expectations, Mohammad Mokhber, the first vice president of Ebrahim Raisi and acting president, did not become a candidate for the election. Also, in the final hours of candidate registration, Mohsen Rezaei announced in a statement that he would not run in this election. Ebrahim Azizi, a member of parliament, Abbas Akhoundi, the Minister of Roads and Urban Development in Hassan Rouhani's government, Davood Manzoor, the head of the Planning and Budget Organization, Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, the head of the Martyrs Foundation, Soulat Mortazavi, the Minister of Labor in Ebrahim Raisi's government, Ali Hosseini Nishabouri, a representative for several terms in parliament, and Ali Nikzad, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, were among other figures who registered for candidacy on the last day. The spokesman for the country's election headquarters announced on Monday afternoon that 'today we had the busiest registration day, with 86 individuals visiting the election headquarters, and the registration of 22 individuals was finalized, including one woman and 21 men.' Among the notable figures from the Islamic Republic who registered for this election in recent days are Ali Larijani, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Saeed Jalili, Vahid Haqaniyan, Alireza Zakani, Abdolnaser Hemmati, and a minister from Raisi's government. This wave of registrations has sparked significant reactions, including criticism from the Khabar Online website, which questioned whether all these candidates had programs and prepared teams, or whether they were merely seeking media attention or political gain. This criticism comes as the number of individuals registered by the Ministry of Interior is significantly lower than in the previous election. In 2021, 592 individuals registered within five days, but this year, by the end of the fourth day of registration, only 37 had managed to register. Hamideh Zarabadi, a member of the 10th parliament, was among the candidates who registered on Monday with a different appearance at the Ministry of Interior's election headquarters. She told reporters while honoring the memory of Azam Taleghani and Zahra Shajari, 'The continuous efforts of these two individuals to have the Guardian Council interpret political men have been fruitful, and today this has happened. They are not present among us, but we witness the results of their efforts.' Zarabadi continued, 'I hope that one day in an election, the people will elect a woman as president.' Azam Taleghani and Zahra Shajari had registered multiple times for the presidential elections in Iran but were disqualified by the Guardian Council. Article 115 of the Islamic Republic's Constitution states that the president must be elected from among 'religious and political men.' The use of the Arabic term 'Rajal,' meaning 'men,' has been a tool for disqualifying female candidates since the beginning of the revolution. Hajer Chenarani and Rafat Bayat, former members of parliament, also registered on the last day, bringing the total number of female candidates for the presidential election to four. While the last election in Iran witnessed the lowest voter turnout, institutions and media of the Islamic Republic have claimed, based on some polls, that over 53% will participate in this election. The 14th presidential election is scheduled to be held on July 29, and it seems that the Guardian Council will disqualify many of these candidates.