Iran permits five other candidates, including conservative parliament speaker Muhammad Ghalibaf, to run for president.

Six candidates for the 2018 presidential elections in Iran have been recognized by the Guardian Council, just weeks after the death of former president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. Iran’s conservative parliament speaker will also run in the election, which is set for June 28.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former president, has been denied nomination once more by the Guardian Council. The controversial populist politician gained notoriety for the crackdown that followed his contentious reelection in 2009. It is significant to remember that the Guardian Council, which authorized the candidates’ names, is made up of clerics and legal experts.

The Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Hosseini Khamenei, is ultimately in charge of the Council. The panel maintained its tradition of rejecting candidates who advocated for significant changes to the structure of the nation, including women. This year was no exception.

What is involved in the Iranian presidential campaign?

Televised debates are expected to be a part of the campaign, and the candidates are permitted to support their candidacies with billboard advertisements and stump speeches.

While none of the contenders have provided any details to date, they have all pledged to improve the country’s economic status in light of the sanctions imposed on it by the US and other Western countries. Despite all of these assurances, the nation’s highest authority controls the majority of political and economic decisions.

Muhammad Bagher Ghalibaf: who is he?

The conservative speaker of the parliament, Muhammad Bagher Ghalibaf, will be one of the main candidates in this year’s election. Known for his tight ties to the nation’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards, he served as Tehran’s mayor before.

He was involved in a bloody crackdown on Iranian university students in 1999 while serving as a former Guards commander. It has also been stated that in 2003, while the students were protesting against the regime, he had previously authorized live gunfire. At that time, he was serving as the country’s police chief.

Interestingly, Ghalibaf was an unsuccessful presidential candidate in both 2005 and 2013.He opted to back Raisi in his first presidential bid, hence he withdrew from the 2017 contest. Although Raisi ultimately prevailed in 2021, there was a low voter turnout for that year’s presidential election.

Ahmadinejad is eliminated.

The Guardian Council disqualified Ahmadinejad, the former Iranian president who has questioned the Holocaust, on Sunday. Ahmadinejad had previously put Khamenei under more and more pressure, particularly as the tenure was coming to a close.

In the previous election, the panel had similarly disqualified him. The second president of Iran to pass away in office was Raisi. Former Iranian President Muhammad Ali Rajai was assassinated in a bombing in 1981 during the tumultuous days following the Islamic Revolution in his nation.

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