Supporters of Failed 2017 Election Candidate Insist on Allegations of 'Irregularities'

In the continuation of contradictory statements from Islamic Republic officials regarding irregularities in the recent elections, the Attorney General of the country described the irregularities in the 2017 presidential election as 'relatively numerous,' while the spokesman for the Guardian Council stated that the irregularities in this period were no different from previous ones. On the other hand, the 'Popular Front of Islamic Revolutionary Forces,' known as Jamna, a group supporting Ebrahim Raisi, issued a statement calling for an investigation into 'election irregularities,' including statements made by Hassan Rouhani during the election period, labeling them as 'structural-breaking.' The Attorney General of Iran also reported the referral of reports, including a complaint from Ebrahim Raisi, the unsuccessful rival of Hassan Rouhani in the election, to the prosecutor's office. According to Tasnim News Agency, the Attorney General responded on Wednesday evening, June 10, to a question about the complaint from Raisi's campaign, stating that reports of irregularities in the presidential election had been sent to the courts in Tehran and other cities. Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the Attorney General, announced that the Ministry of Interior had also sent reports regarding election irregularities to the Attorney General's office. Mr. Montazeri emphasized that 'the irregularities were relatively numerous,' but precise statistics would require waiting. He added, 'The cases that are verified must wait to be addressed in a competent court; however, generally, many of them are provable in court.' On Wednesday, the spokesman for the Iranian judiciary reported the summoning of some individuals due to 'irregularities' in the presidential election, and the Minister of Interior confirmed that several governors had been summoned in this regard. Ebrahim Raisi, the presidential candidate, accused Hassan Rouhani's government of committing 'engineered irregularities' in the election and has repeatedly insisted on this position since the announcement of the election results. Raisi and his campaign chief stated that they had submitted evidence of the alleged 'irregularities' to the Guardian Council and the Attorney General's office, but so far, they have not published details of their claims. In response to such accusations, Hassan Rouhani had previously accused institutions under the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Astan Quds Razavi, state media, and the judiciary, of interfering in the elections in favor of Raisi. The Guardian Council on Tuesday, June 9, while confirming the results of the presidential election, also reported some 'irregularities' and called for the judiciary to take 'decisive, precise, swift, and fair' action regarding these irregularities. Meanwhile, the spokesman for the council stated on Wednesday evening in a television program that 'I do not see this election as different in terms of irregularities; they are the same irregularities that existed in the past.' Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei also stated that these irregularities did not affect the results of the presidential election. He added, 'The total number of unmarked ballots was about 12,000, which is negligible compared to the 41 million ballots cast in the election.' Raisi's supporters have continuously accused the Ministry of Interior since Friday, May 29, of attempting to influence the election through actions such as not sending ballots to polling stations where this candidate had a higher chance of winning. However, Ministry officials announced that the necessary ballots had been sent to areas that faced shortages. Meanwhile, Hassan Rouhani has also implicitly accused the Guardian Council of delaying the approval of using national ID numbers instead of names and surnames, which he claims prevented his votes from reaching 28 million. In response to these remarks, the spokesman for the Guardian Council attributed the shortcomings to the Ministry of Interior, stating that they had provided Hassan Rouhani with 'incorrect reports' in this regard. Despite the confirmation of the election by the Guardian Council, protests from some conservative parties and individuals regarding 'irregularities' in the election continue. At the same time, the 'Popular Front of Islamic Revolutionary Forces' issued a statement calling for the judiciary to address 'widespread electoral irregularities and crimes.' This group declared the 'presence of several cabinet ministers and their deputies in Hassan Rouhani's campaign rallies' as one of the 'irregularities' of the election. The 'Popular Front of Islamic Revolutionary Forces' is protesting the presence of Rouhani's ministers in 'campaign rallies,' while Mohammad Baqer Zolghadr, the strategic and crime prevention deputy of the judiciary and former deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is the executive head of this group. Nevertheless, the 'Popular Front of Islamic Revolutionary Forces' stated that Mr. Zolghadr's position in the judiciary 'lacks any judicial mission,' and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also announced that he had retired from this institution. This group also accused Hassan Rouhani of 'taking unethical and structural-breaking positions' in the election, citing his remarks about 'building walls in the streets' if rivals win and labeling Ebrahim Raisi as 'the executioner and killer' as evidence that 'the officials of the eleventh government recognize no red lines to maintain their power.' The 'Popular Front of Islamic Revolutionary Forces' also described attacks on the missile programs of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and support for protesters against the 2009 presidential election as 'anti-security behaviors of government officials in the electoral campaign space.' Hassan Rouhani had accused the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the second presidential debate of attempting to undermine the Vienna nuclear agreement by showcasing missile warehouses and writing slogans on missiles. These remarks were met with a reaction from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran, and Massoud Jazayeri, the spokesman for this military organization, urged candidates to 'avoid contentious issues regarding military matters' and, as he put it, 'to refrain from providing incorrect addresses to the people.'