Polls originally slated for 2025 were brought forward to June 28 following the president\u2019s death in the May 19 air crash
\n Tehran
\nIran has begun the formal registration of presidential candidates ahead of a snap vote next month to replace the late Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash earlier this month.
\nThe election was originally slated for 2025 but was brought forward to June 28 following Raisi\u2019s death on May 19.
\n\u201cCandidate registration for the 14th presidential elections began at 8am [04:30 GMT] \u2026 at the interior ministry,\u201d the official IRNA news agency said.
\nPresidential hopefuls will have five days to register, IRNA added.
\nRaisi and seven members of his entourage, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, were killed when their aircraft came down on a fog-shrouded mountainside in northern Iran.
\nIran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has since assigned Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, 68, as caretaker president in accordance with the constitution.
\nThirty hopefuls
\nOn Thursday, state media reported that \u201caround 30 people\u201d came forward to submit applications for candidacy, but \u201cnone of them met the basic conditions for qualification\u201d.
\nThe AFP news agency reported that former reformist lawmaker Mostafa Kavakebian and conservative parliamentarian Mohammadreza Sabaghian submitted their applications to the Ministry of Interior.
\nCandidates must be between the ages of 40 and 75 and have at least a master\u2019s degree, according to Iran\u2019s electoral law.
\nAs in previous election cycles, the main candidates representing Iran\u2019s leading political camps are likely to submit their applications closer to the end of the registration process.
\nPossible candidates
\nAmong those reported to be considering a run is Saeed Jalili, a conservative politician who once served as the chief nuclear negotiator under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as well as Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani, son of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
\nFormer parliament speaker Ali Larijani, a political ally of former President Hassan Rouhani, is also reportedly being asked to run.
\nMokhber, the caretaker president, could also file his candidacy.
\nThe final list of candidates will be announced on June 11 by the Guardian Council, a 12-member body of jurists whose members are either appointed or approved by the supreme leader.
\nThe body disqualified multiple reformist figures ahead of the 2021 presidential election, which eventually helped the ultraconservative Raisi win.
\nThe election saw a record-low turnout for a presidential poll at just 48.8 percent of all the registered voters.
\nThe June vote will be held during a turbulent time, as the Gaza war rages between Iran\u2019s arch foe Israel and Tehran-backed Palestinian group Hamas, and amid continued diplomatic tensions over Iran\u2019s nuclear programme.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Polls originally slated for 2025 were brought forward to June 28 following the president\u2019s death in the May 19 air crash Tehran Iran has begun the formal registration of presidential candidates ahead of a snap vote next month to replace the late Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash earlier this month. The election […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409861,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-409846","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n