The head of the Iranian Shura Council is running for the presidential elections

Tehran (AFP)

Yesterday, the Speaker of the Iranian Shura Council, Muhammad Baqir Qalibaf, submitted his candidacy application for the early presidential elections scheduled for June 28, at the end of the five-day nomination period that ended yesterday evening. Interior Minister Ahmed Wahidi stated that a total of 80 nomination applications had been received. Candidates must wait until June 11 for the 12-member Guardian Council to decide on their candidacy applications.
It is noteworthy that the elections were originally scheduled to take place in 2025, but their date was advanced after the departure of President Ibrahim Raisi on May 19. This is the fourth time that Qalibaf is running for president, after attempts in 2005, 2013, and 2017. In the last attempt, Qalibaf (62 years old) withdrew in favor of Raisi, who came second after former President Hassan Rouhani. After submitting his registration application, he said, “If I do not run for elections, the work that we have begun in recent years to solve people’s economic problems will not be completed.” He added that if he had not believed in the possibility of solving Iran’s economic and social problems, he would have “never entered the field of competition.”