Former Iranian President Ahmadinejad and disqualified Larijani register for elections | Politics News

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and others see an opportunity, but it is not yet clear who will be qualified to lead the Guardian Council.

Tehran, Iran – Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other divisive figures – such as moderate Ali Larijani and ultra-conservative Saeed Jalili – have signed up to run in new elections following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month.

Ahmadinejad, who was president from 2005 to 2013, registered along with dozens of others at the Interior Ministry on Sunday, a day before the registration period ended.

The politician, who was largely sidelined after his controversial terms, said he is simply responding to “a call from people across the country” to run again and is confident he can resolve Iran’s internal and international issues.

“Don’t ask political questions,” he said with a smile when asked by reporters about his reaction if he were disqualified from running by the Council of Guardians – the constitutional body that vets all candidates.

Despite Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urging him to stay away in 2017, he registered and was barred from running, but chose not to register in the 2021 elections.

Ahmadinejad’s presidency was marked by an economic malaise defined by massive inflation and currency devaluation, along with explosive tensions over Iran’s nuclear program – which saw multilateral sanctions imposed on the country.

His re-election in 2009 triggered Green Movement protests across the country, amid allegations of vote tampering, which were refuted by authorities as they mounted a crackdown.

Who else wants to be in the race?

The dozens who have signed up to run for president also include senior security official and former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, former three-time Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani and former chief of the central bank, Abdolnasser Hemmati.

Jalili is now the Iranian supreme leader’s representative on the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and was security chief from 2007 to 2013, at the height of tensions surrounding the nuclear file. He has unsuccessfully run for president three times before.

Larijani, a conservative figure belonging to a powerful family, is perhaps the only relatively moderate candidate with any chance of obtaining a considerable number of votes – that is, if he receives the green light from the Guardian Council after being disqualified in 2021.

Despite his disqualification last time, Larijani was the first major figure to announce his candidacy, signing up in Tehran on Friday with his campaign releasing a dramatic video containing cinematic footage of him in the process.

After the last presidential and parliamentary elections produced the lowest turnout in the nearly 45-year history of the Republic of Iran, turnout is also expected to prove a challenging issue during this vote.

The Iranian parliament’s research center announced on Sunday that 53.4 percent of people – responding to a survey it carried out – said they would vote in the June 28 presidential elections, with 28.9 percent still on the fence.

This is slightly above the 48 percent that saw Raisi become president, and much higher than the 42 percent turnout announced for March’s parliamentary elections.

The Guardianship Council is scheduled to begin evaluating candidates from Tuesday for six days, after which the list of successful candidates will be announced on June 11.