The Iranian Ministry of Interior announced on Sunday the names of six candidates for the 2024 presidential election, scheduled for June 28, following the decision of the Guardian Council, which has the final say in approving or disqualifying candidates.
The Iranian Guardian Council once again excluded former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from the presidential race, while selecting six presidential candidates: Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Saeed Jalili, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Alireza Zakani, Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, and Masoud Pezeshkian.
Hadi Tahan Nazif, the spokesperson for the Guardian Council, stated: “The sessions were intense, and today we concluded the review of the candidates’ qualifications for the fourteenth presidential election.”
He added in a tweet via the X platform: “We have just sent the names of the qualified candidates to the Ministry of Interior, and God willing, the Ministry of Interior will announce these names in accordance with the law. After the announcement, the candidates’ election campaigns will begin.”
The Mehr News Agency reported that 17 candidates had submitted their applications to the Election Commission to participate in the upcoming presidential election at the end of this month.
June 28 has been set as the date for electing a new president for Iran following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash that occurred while he was traveling with the Foreign Minister and several other officials in East Azerbaijan Province in northwestern Iran.
The elections coincide with Iran facing the repercussions of Raisi’s death on May 19, as well as escalating tensions between Tehran and the United States, and the protests that followed the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022.
