By bne Tehran bureau
Iranian leaders finalised the schedule for snap elections after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, setting June 28 as the date for public vote, ISNA reported on May 21.
Raisi died in a chopper incident on May 19, along with his Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and six others on board, on his way back from a visit to East Azerbaijan Province. Several groups are now preparing the impromptu election campaigns, with several previous contenders expected to stand.
Based on the 1979 Constitution, the first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, has taken charge of day-to-day operations following the agreement from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei until the June 28 election.
Based on the Constitution, Vice President Mohammad Mokhber took charge as acting president until the snap elections that must be held within a maximum of 50 days.
A committee, consisting of Mokhber and the heads of the parliament and Judiciary, had earlier proposed June 28 as the date for elections, but that required the nod of the Guardian Council.
On May 21, the council gave initial approval and the schedule was finalised, setting the date of elections at June 28, with candidate registrations set for May 30-June 3 and campaigns allowed on June 12-27.
Since June 28 coincided with the day of the national university entrance exams, relevant education authorities rescheduled the exam and postponed it to July 11-12.
The elected president will serve a four-year term, Hadi Tahan Nazif, spokesman for the Guardian Council said. That, however, presents a challenge for city and village council elections, which, according to the law, must be conducted concurrently with presidential elections. The Iranian parliament on May 21 altered the election law to address this problem.
Lawmakers decided that the current councillors remain in office until their regular end of term in 2025, according to Mojtaba Yousefi, a member of the parliament. However, the following elected members will serve a three-year term to synchronize subsequent elections with the presidential ballots.
