Nine presidential hopefuls so far have registered their candidacy to run in Iran's June 28 election, including a conservative heavyweight and a moderate who was barred from running in the 2021 presidential election.
The five-day registration period opened on May 30 and will close on June 3. The final list of candidates approved by the conservative-dominated Guardians Council will be released on June 11.
The early election was triggered by the May 19 death of President Ebrahim Raisi, a hard-line cleric who died in a helicopter crash along with seven other people, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
Based on Iranian state media reporting, former chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili was the first political heavyweight to register his candidacy on May 30. The hard-liner is close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and ran his office in the early 2000s. He currently serves as one of Khamenei’s two representatives in the Supreme National Security Council.
Jalili has long championed a hard-line stance against the West and was a major critic of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major world powers.
SEE ALSO: Iranian President's Death Could Trigger 'Power Competition' For Next Supreme LeaderThe 58-year-old first ran for president in 2013, finishing third with just over 11 percent of the votes. He also ran in the 2021 election but dropped out in favor of Raisi.
Another big name that has signed up is Ali Larijani, a former parliament speaker and nuclear negotiator who registered his candidacy on May 31.
Once considered a political heavyweight, the 65-year-old moderate politician was surprisingly disqualified from running in the 2021 presidential election by the Guardians Council, whose members are directly and indirectly appointed by Khamenei.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) late on May 30, Larijani hinted that he had received the Iranian leader’s blessing to run in the election. He posted a map copied from a local ride-hailing application that showed the pickup location as Khamenei’s office and his first destination as the Interior Ministry to register his candidacy. The presidential palace was designated as the final destination.
Abdolnasser Hemmati, a moderate former central bank chief who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2021, also threw his hat in the ring on May 31.
Hemmati, 67, was the only nonconservative to be allowed to run in the 2021 election, securing less than 10 percent of the votes. There were more spoiled ballots than votes for Hemmati that year.
Another well-known name to register is Mostafa Kavakebian, a reformist politician and two-term lawmaker who was barred from the 2021 election.
SEE ALSO: 'A Symbol Of Murder Gone': Families Of Victims Of Mass Executions Express Relief After Iranian President's DeathSpeculation in Iranian media suggests that a handful of prominent conservative names and low-profile reformist figures might sign up in the next few days.
More than 35 people have sought to register their candidacy since May 30, but the vast majority did not meet the requirements, according to a spokesman for Iran's election headquarters.
Since 2020, Iran has held two parliamentary and a presidential election, all of which saw record-low turnouts.
In recent elections, the authorities severely limited the playing field by disqualifying many moderate and reformist candidates, which may have contributed to the low voter participation. This was especially evident in February’s parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections, which were held concurrently.
But analysts say the public's disillusionment with the establishment has reached a point where even if the moderate voices were allowed to run, it would not have made a significant impact on voter turnout.