In Iran’s early presidential election, six candidates will compete for the office of presidency. They include Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Masoud Pezeshkian, Alireza Zakani, Saeed Jalili, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, and Amirhossein Ghazizadeh-Hashemi.
Necessitated by the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter accident on May 19, Iran will be holding a new presidential election on June 28.
Among the six candidates that Iran’s Guardian Council approved out of 80 participants to compete for the office, each one has a different political background and each one can shape the future of Iran in a different way. But who are these six competitors?
- Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
Ghalibaf is the current speaker of the Iranian parliament, the former mayor of Tehran, and a prominent conservative politician. He has been a presidential candidate three times in the past. He is considered as the leading contender for the post of the president this time.
Experts believe that as Ghalibaf, a retired pilot and former commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, is close in thoughts and political ideals to the late President, he is expected to continue the foreign and domestic politics which characterized Raisi’s administration.
- Masoud Pezeshkian
Pezeshkian is the oldest candidate approved by the Guardian council with 70 years of age. He is currently a member of Iran’s parliament and was health minister in the second administration of former reformist president Seyyed Mohammad Khatami (2001-2005). Pezeshkian is the only prominent reformist politician approved to compete for the office of presidency.
If almost 40 percent of eligible voters in Iran turnout in this election, as it was the case in the last two elections for the Majles in 2020 and in the 2021 presidential election, then one of the conservative candidates will most likely be elected given that they can rely on a solid social base of support.
But if, the turnout is between 50 to 60 percent, it is likely that no candidate will receive more than 50 percent of the votes, and the top two vote-getters will advance to the second round. If the turnout is larger than 60 percent, which was the case for Khatami in 1997 and 2001 and Hassan Rouhani in 2013 and 2017, then Pezeshkian will have an excellent chance of winning.
- Alireza Zakani
Zakani, the current mayor of Tehran, was in the 2021 presidential race, but withdrew in the final stages in favor of Ebrahim Raeisi, the eventual winner. In a post on X following his qualification on Sunday, he noted that he wishes to “continue the path” of the late president, almost declaring what kind of president will be if elected.
Although Zakani has said that he will not withdraw this time, experts believe that main race will be between Ghalibaf and Jalili. Both are conservatives, although Ghalibaf is seen as more relatively moderate, while Jalili is a hardliner.
