Presidential election in Iran: Supreme leader asks to ignore boycott calls
"If the candidates can prove to the people that they are effective, the people will come to the polls and the turnout will be high, God willing," said the Supreme Leader.
- KHAMENEI.IR/AFP
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4 min
Three weeks before the Iranian presidential election, the seven successful candidates begin their campaign.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for his part, rejected President Hassan Rouhani's request asking him to intervene to pick up some moderate and reformist candidates.
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"
Do not pay attention to those who campaign by saying that there is no point in going to vote,
" Ayatollah Khamenei said during a videoconference meeting with MPs, as criticism of the invalidation of presidential candidates of June 18 multiply.
Some 600 people stood for election. The Council of Guardians of the Constitution, an unelected body responsible for validating candidates and overseeing the presidential election, allowed seven to compete. All men, including five ultraconservatives. Among them, the current head of justice, the conservative Ebrahim Raissi, is a favorite.
Former reformist president Mohammad Khatami and Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic, protested against this massive rejection. Hassan Khomeini even asked the seven remaining candidates to withdraw from the race.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose candidacy was invalidated
, also denounced the decision of the Council of Guardians of the Constitution. Several reform leaders said they refused to go to vote for lack of choice, reports our correspondent in Tehran,
Siavosh Ghazi
.
But the Supreme Guide swept aside these criticisms by approving the decision of the Council of Guardians of the Constitution, at the same time opposing an end of inadmissibility to the written request of President Hassan Rohani who asked him to allow more "
competition
".
After record abstention (57%) in the legislative elections of 2020, the latter said he feared a new abstentionist peak, which he believed could be prejudicial to the “
legitimacy
” of the Islamic Republic.
In fact, according to a poll conducted Thursday by the Ispa institute, one of the few authorized in Iran, only 36% of those questioned intend to vote, against 43% a week before the announcement. from the final list of candidates.
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See also: Presidential election in Iran: towards a high abstention rate
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Ali Khamenei
Hassan Rouhani