Iran: Hassan Rohani wants more candidates for the presidential election
Hassan Rohani attending a government meeting in Tehran, April 14, 2021 © Iranian Presidency / AFP
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3 min
In Iran, reactions are increasing after the rejection of moderate and reformist candidates by the Council of Guardians of the Constitution.
This body controlled by the conservatives and responsible for screening candidates, only approved the candidacies of seven people.
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President Hassan Rohani wrote to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei asking him to intervene to pick out some candidates in order to have a more competitive election.
"
Elections without competition are like a corpse without a soul,
" said the Iranian president.
After two terms, Hassan Rouhani cannot run again according to the Constitution, but the elimination of all moderate and reformer candidates means the sidelining of his political friends from all instances of power.
A first for more than forty years, says our correspondent in Tehran,
Siavosh Ghazi.
Ebrahim Raïssi asks for the qualification of certain competitors
The coalition of reformist parties has also assured that for lack of candidates, it could not participate in the election.
The main Conservative candidate, Ebrahim Raïssi, currently head of justice, himself said he had held consultations to obtain the qualification of some competing candidates.
For his part, former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
himself disqualified
, denounced the decision to dismiss him, stressing that he refused to remain silent.
He claimed he had been warned against any attempt to protest.
Responsible for examining the files of some 600 candidates in the June 18 election, the Council of Guardians of the Constitution, an unelected body responsible for overseeing the election, authorized seven to compete.
The small number of candidates, who are also mostly ultra-conservative, may weigh on participation.
lack of popular mobilization on polling day.
Hassan Rohani was worried about this: a low participation would, according to him, be detrimental to "the national interest".
►Also read:
Presidential election in Iran: towards a high abstention rate
Despite these criticisms, as of yet, there is no sign of a change in the game.
(and with AFP)
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Iran
Hassan Rouhani
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
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