Campaigning has officially started for Iran’s upcoming election, with six candidates vying to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi.
The period began on June 9 after the Interior Ministry announced a list of six hopefuls whose qualifications were approved by the Constitutional Council.
The campaign, which includes five live, televised debates on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), will continue until 24 hours before the election.
Iran will vote for a new president on June 28. The election was called after President Raisi lost his life along with seven others on May 19, when a helicopter carrying them crashed into a mountainous area in northwest Iran amid foggy conditions.
The registration for the election concluded on June 3, with more than 80 candidates signing up to run for the vote.
The Constitutional Council, a 12-member election supervisory body, approved on June 9 the candidacies of Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, reformist lawmaker Masud Pezeshkian and ex-nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.
The Council’s list also included the names of former interior and justice minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Head of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs Amir Hossein Qazizadeh Hashemi, and Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani. (PressTV.ir
