Iranians will choose between mostly hardline candidates in an early presidential election on June 28 following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month.
Only six candidates from over 80 hopefuls survived screening by the hardline Guardian Council, a panel of clerics and jurists which is overseen by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all matters of state.
The president, who runs the government day-to-day and has a particular responsibility for Iran’s struggling economy, ultimately answers to the Supreme Leader.
Following are brief sketches of five hardliners and one moderate candidate for the upcoming election:
MOHAMMAD BAQER QALIBAF
A former Iran Revolutionary Guards commander and ally of Khamenei, Qalibaf is the current speaker of the hardline-dominated parliament. He previously ran unsuccessfully for president twice and was compelled to withdraw from a third bid in 2017 to prevent a divided hardline vote in Raisi’s initial failed presidential attempt.
In 2005, Qalibaf resigned from the Guards to run for president. Following his unsuccessful campaign, he assumed the position of Tehran mayor with the supreme leader’s endorsement, a role he occupied for 12 years.
In 2009, Qalibaf took credit as Tehran mayor for helping suppress months of bloody unrest that rocked the establishment after a presidential vote that opposition candidates said was rigged to secure hardline Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election.
