Current:Home > BackIran opens registration period for the presidential election after a helicopter crash killed Raisi-LoTradeCoin
Iran opens registration period for the presidential election after a helicopter crash killed Raisi
View Date:2024-12-24 00:35:35
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran opened a five-day registration period Thursday for hopefuls wanting to run in the June 28 presidential election to replace the late Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash earlier this month with seven others.
The election comes as Iran grapples with the aftermath of the May 19 crash, as well as heightened tensions between Tehran and the United States, and protests including those over the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini that have swept the country.
Over 50 countries go to the polls in 2024
- The year will test even the most robust democracies. Read more on what’s to come here.
- Take a look at the 25 places where a change in leadership could resonate around the world.
- Keep track of the latest AP elections coverage from around the world here.
While Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 85, maintains final say over all matters of state, presidents in the past have bent the Islamic Republic of Iran toward greater interaction or increased hostility with the West.
The five-day period will see those between the ages of 40 to 75 with at least a master’s degree register as potential candidates. All candidates ultimately must be approved by Iran’s 12-member Guardian Council, a panel of clerics and jurists ultimately overseen by Khamenei. That panel has never accepted a woman, for instance, nor anyone calling for radical change within the country’s governance.
Raisi, a protege of Khamenei, won Iran’s 2021 presidential election after the Guardian Council disqualified all of the candidates with the best chance to potentially challenge him. That vote saw the lowest turnout in Iran’s history for a presidential election. That likely was a sign of voters’ discontent with both a hard-line cleric sanctioned by the U.S. in part over his involvement in mass executions in 1988, and Iran’s Shiite theocracy over four decades after its 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Who will run — and potentially be accepted — remains in question. The country’s acting president, Mohammad Mokhber, a previously behind-the-scenes bureaucrat, could be a front-runner, because he’s already been seen meeting with Khamenei. Also discussed as possible aspirants are former hard-line President Mohammad Ahmadinejad and former reformist President Mohammad Khatami — but whether they’d be allowed to run is another question.
The five-day registration period will close on Tuesday. The Guardian Council is expected to issue its final list of candidates within 10 days afterwards. That will allow for a shortened two-week campaign before the vote in late June.
The new president will take office while the country now enriches uranium at nearly weapons-grade levels and hampers international inspections. Iran has armed Russia in its war on Ukraine, as well as launched a drone and missile attack on Israel amid the war in Gaza. Tehran also has continued arming proxy groups in the Middle East, like Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia.
Meanwhile, Iran’s economy has faced years of hardship over its collapsing rial currency. Widespread protests have swept the country, most recently over Amini’s death following her arrest over allegedly not wearing her mandatory headscarf to the liking of authorities, A U.N. panel says the Iranian government is responsible for the “physical violence” that led to Amini’s death.
Raisi is just the second Iranian president to die in office. In 1981, a bomb blast killed President Mohammad Ali Rajai in the chaotic days after the Islamic Revolution.
___
Amir Vahdat contributed to this report from Tehran.
veryGood! (163)
Related
- Younghoo Koo takes blame for Falcons loss to Saints: 'This game is fully on me'
- Shakira Reveals Why She Decided to Finally Resolve Tax Fraud Case for $7.6 Million
- More free COVID-19 tests can be ordered now, as uptick looms
- US Navy plane overshoots runway and goes into a bay in Hawaii, military says
- Isiah Pacheco injury updates: When will Chiefs RB return?
- New Hampshire man had no car, no furniture, but died with a big secret, leaving his town millions
- Where is Thanksgiving most expensive? Residents in these US cities expect to pay more
- Hiker found dead on trail in Grand Canyon, second such fatality in 2 months
- Mechanic dies after being 'trapped' under Amazon delivery van at Florida-based center
- Hunger Games' Rachel Zegler Reveals the OMG Story Behind Her First Meeting With Jennifer Lawrence
Ranking
- Texas now tops in SEC? Miami in trouble? Five overreactions to college football Week 11
- Solar panels will cut water loss from canals in Gila River Indian Community
- A slice of television history: Why 100 million viewers tuned in to watch a TV movie in 1983
- Biden pardons turkeys Liberty and Bell in annual Thanksgiving ceremony
- 2024 'virtually certain' to be warmest year on record, scientists say
- New iPhone tips and tricks that allow your phone to make life a little easier
- Court sides with New Hampshire school districts in latest education funding case
- Kansas keeps lead, Gonzaga enters top 10 of USA TODAY Sports men's college basketball poll
Recommendation
-
RHOBH's Kyle Richards Shares Reaction to BFF Teddi Mellencamp's Divorce
-
Christian conservatives flock to former telenovela star in Mexico’s presidential race
-
Olympian Tara Lipinski Reflects on Isolating Journey With Pregnancy Loss, IVF Before Welcoming Daughter
-
The Excerpt podcast: Rosalynn Carter dies at 96, sticking points in hostage negotiations
-
Are banks, post offices, UPS and FedEx open on Veterans Day? Here's what to know
-
US auto safety regulators reviewing some Hyundai, Kia recalls
-
Man facing murder charges in disappearance of missing Washington state couple
-
Missing Florida mom found dead in estranged husband's storage unit, authorities say