TOI World Desk
NEW DELHI: Iran initiated the official registration for presidential candidates on Thursday for a snap election next month, following the sudden demise of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.
“Candidate registration for the 14th presidential elections began at 8am (0430 GMT)… at the interior ministry,” announced the official IRNA news agency.
Presidential hopefuls have a five-day window to register, IRNA said.
Originally scheduled for 2025, the elections were preponed due to Raisi’s unexpected passing on May 19.
Raisi and seven individuals, including foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, were killed when their helicopter crashed on a misty mountainside in northern Iran.
The Islamic republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, appointed vice president Mohammad Mokhber, 68, as the caretaker president after the accident, as per the constitutional directive.
State TV reported that “around 30 people” came forward to submit their candidacies on Thursday but indicated, “none of them met the basic conditions for qualification.”
According to Iran’s electoral law, candidates must be aged between 40 and 75 and possess at least a master’s degree.
Like previous election cycles, the main candidates from Iran’s key political factions are anticipated to submit their applications closer to the end of the registration period.
The Guardian Council, a 12-member panel of jurists appointed or approved by the supreme leader, will announce the final list of candidates on June 11.
During the 2021 presidential elections, this body disqualified several reformist and moderate candidates, leading to the election of the ultraconservative Raisi.
That election witnessed a record low voter turnout, with only 48.8% participation.
“Candidate registration for the 14th presidential elections began at 8am (0430 GMT)… at the interior ministry,” announced the official IRNA news agency.
Presidential hopefuls have a five-day window to register, IRNA said.
Originally scheduled for 2025, the elections were preponed due to Raisi’s unexpected passing on May 19.
Raisi and seven individuals, including foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, were killed when their helicopter crashed on a misty mountainside in northern Iran.
The Islamic republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, appointed vice president Mohammad Mokhber, 68, as the caretaker president after the accident, as per the constitutional directive.
State TV reported that “around 30 people” came forward to submit their candidacies on Thursday but indicated, “none of them met the basic conditions for qualification.”
According to Iran’s electoral law, candidates must be aged between 40 and 75 and possess at least a master’s degree.
Like previous election cycles, the main candidates from Iran’s key political factions are anticipated to submit their applications closer to the end of the registration period.
The Guardian Council, a 12-member panel of jurists appointed or approved by the supreme leader, will announce the final list of candidates on June 11.
During the 2021 presidential elections, this body disqualified several reformist and moderate candidates, leading to the election of the ultraconservative Raisi.
That election witnessed a record low voter turnout, with only 48.8% participation.