Iran has initiated the official registration process for the upcoming snap presidential elections scheduled to take place in June.
This election is being held to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who tragically passed away in a helicopter crash earlier this month. According to the state-backed IRNA news agency, the registration began on May 30 at the interior ministry.
Following the helicopter crash in East Azerbaijan Province, which claimed the lives of Raisi and eight others, including India’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, appointed vice president Mohammad Mokhber, 68, as the caretaker president in accordance with the constitution.
Originally scheduled for 2025, the elections have been rescheduled to this year due to the unexpected demise of President Raisi. Candidates aspiring to become the president of Iran must meet certain criteria. They must be between the ages of 40 and 75 and hold at least one master’s degree, as per Iran’s electoral law. The registration period for presidential hopefuls will last for five days.
The final list of candidates will be announced on June 11 by the Guardian Council, a 12-member body of jurists whose members are appointed or approved by the supreme leader. It is worth noting that this council had disqualified several reformist and moderate figures prior to the 2021 presidential elections, which ultimately led to the victory of the ultraconservative Raisi. The previous elections witnessed a historically low turnout of only 48.8 percent.
The upcoming June vote will take place amidst a turbulent period, with the ongoing Gaza war between Iran’s arch-foe Israel and the Tehran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas, as well as continued diplomatic tensions surrounding Iran’s nuclear program.
