The Islamic Republic of Iran is all set to vote on June 18 to elect the successor of President Hassan Rouhani who is barred by term limits from running again. The President of Iran, who is elected for four years by direct vote, is not permitted to run for the third consecutive term.

Rouhani was first elected as the President in 2013, followed by 2017.

Meanwhile, filing of nominations ended on May 15 with the registration of two of the main contenders—hard-line judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi and former parliament speaker Ali Larijani who is an adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei. First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri, a moderate ally of Rouhani, also filed his nomination, according to Reuters.

The registrations had started on May 11 with two prominent military candidates signing up—Hossein Dehghan, currently a defence adviser to Supreme Leader Khamenei and military man Saeed Mohammad who is running as an independent. Dehghan was also defence minister during the first term of outgoing President Rouhani.

The presidential election follows last year's parliamentary vote, which witnessed a historically low turnout. It resulted in the victory of hardliners and disqualification of moderates.

It would be interesting to see which way the already disenchanted voters swing this time as the country continues to deal with the COVID-19 infections and an economy, crippled by the US sanctions re-imposed after Washington exited a nuclear deal between Iran and major powers three years ago.

According to the election headquarters, over 59 million people are eligible to vote, around 1.4 million of them are first-time voters. Many observers believe the voter turnout will be low like last year’s parliamentary elections amid the Coronavirus pandemic.

The frontrunners

Raisi, a 60-year-old mid-ranking cleric in Iran’s Shi’ite Muslim establishment, is said to be a top contender. After running unsuccessfully against Rouhani in the 2017 election, Raisi was appointed as head of the judiciary by Supreme Leader Khamenei in March 2019, and since then has emerged as one of the country's most powerful figures.

"I have come as an independent… to make changes in the executive management of the country and to fight poverty, corruption, humiliation and discrimination," Reuters quoted Raisi as speaking to the local media before registering his candidature.

“I have come to form a strong people’s government for a strong Iran with the help of the brave youth,” Raisi said, apparently alluding to Khamenei recent comments about expecting a “capable and energetic government” to come to power.

According to Reuters, reformists and rights activists are alarmed by Raisi's background as a hard-line judge who was among the four judges who imposed death penalties on thousands of political prisoners during the 1980s.

Another frontrunner is 64-year-old Dehghan, former defence minister and former commander of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

Dehghan has served under a reformist, hardliner and moderate president during his career. In his several interviews to media, he has said that his candidacy does not indicate a “growing militarisation in the Islamic republic”.

Meanwhile, Larijani (63), a former nuclear negotiator, is said to be eyeing the votes of both the moderates and hardliners to bridge the gap between them.

According to analysts garnering public support could be a big challenge for Larijani, also a former IRGC officer, who left his post as a parliament speaker last year.

Larijani also served as the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council from 2005 to 2007 in the Ahmadinejad administration.

Another top contender is Saeed Mohammad (53) who recently resigned as the head of the IRGC's construction conglomerate, Khatam al-Anbia to run for the elections.

But, according to Aljazeera, some IRGC members said he was fired due to “violations”.

Procedure

After the registration of candidates, they will be screened for their political and Islamic qualifications by a 12-member Guardian Council. Six of the council members are named by Khamenei.

The country's supreme authority has already said publicly that Iran should be led by a “relatively young and ideologically hard-line president”.

The overreaching council will announce its final list by May 27.

The hard-line vetting body is said to have disqualified many moderates and reformers in the past. It also hasn’t selected any woman to run for president since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Before the registration began, the council had unilaterally proclaimed a series of conditions for candidature. Among them are an age limit of 40 to 75 years, and a requirement to have at least four years of senior executive leadership experience.

Besides, the council has also requested the submission of all necessary documents, including proof of no criminal record and no history of dissent.

(Edited by : Aditi Gautam)