By bne Tehran bureau
Iran's election headquarters spokesman, Mohsen Islami, announced on June 9 the final list of candidates approved to run in the country's upcoming 14th presidential election on June 28.
The list approved by the Guardian Council for the snap general election follows the death of former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in May in a helicopter crash close to the border of Azerbaijan.
The six candidates who have been qualified are:
1. Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi
2. Masoud Pezeshkian
3. Saeed Jalili
4. Alireza Zakani
5. Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf
6. Seyyed Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi
Registration for prospective candidates ran over a five-day registration period; 80 individuals registered to run for the presidency.
The council has again barred other high-profile candidates, including former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ali Larijani, among other well-known figures. All female candidates have also been disqualified from running for the position, keeping this a male-only role since its creation.
With the announcement of the final list of candidates for the 2024 presidential election, various reactions have been expressed by users on social media platforms.
Some users expressed satisfaction with the Guardian Council's candidate vetting process. One user wrote, 'Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Guardian Council, especially the esteemed secretary who worked hard despite his advanced age to select highly qualified individuals for us to choose from.'
However, others criticised the disqualifications. 'The Guardian Council should be held accountable for the disqualifications,' a user commented. Another asked, 'Why were qualified and experienced figures like Dr Nadaran, Dr Khoshchehreh, and Dr Sobhani not approved?'
Many speculated about the frontrunners and likely outcome. 'The real competition is between Ghalibaf, Zakani and Jalili,' a user opined. Some predicted a Ghalibaf victory, with one stating 'Everything is set for Ghalibaf to become president.'
The sole reformist candidate Pezeshkian also drew comments, with a user writing 'Pezeshkian will be competing with the void ballots.' But some reformist-leaning users still backed him as the only choice.'
Other users lamented what they saw as a lack of diversity and new faces among the candidates. 'Same old faces - the packaged bunch, the fired-up bunch, nothing else, no successful track records,' one complained.
On the whole, the finalised candidate list sparked debates and predictions, with users expressing a range of views from satisfaction to criticism and resignation. The stage appears set for a competitive race, though many have already picked their likely winners.
