Amid the escalating tensions, voting began in Iran on Friday, for a new president following the death of president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May. Voters get to choose from a controlled group of four candidates loyal to the supreme leader. According to Reuters, while the election may not make a big change in the Islamic Republic's policies, the outcome could influence the succession of Iran’s supreme leader, Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei.
The election comes at a time when tensions are running high due to the war between Israel and Iranian allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Western pressure on Iran over its fast-advancing nuclear programme.
Khamenei has called for a high voter turnout to counter the legitimacy crisis fuelled by public discontent over economic hardship as well as restrictions on political and social freedom.
"The durability, strength, dignity and reputation of the Islamic Republic depend on the presence of people," Khamenei told state television after casting his vote, as per Reuters. "High turnout is a definite necessity."
Iran Presidential Election Candidates
Of the 80 hopefuls, only 6 survived the vetting by the hardline Guardian Council, a panel of clerics and jurists which is overseen by Khamenei. However, 2 hardline candidates dropped out of the race ahead of the election, Reuters reported.
Candidates include Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the current parliament speaker and former commander of the formidable Revolutionary Guards, and Saeed Jalili, a past nuclear negotiator who spent four years working in Khamenei's office. Mostafa Pourmohammadi previously held the position of interior minister during the initial term of hardline former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from 2005 to 2008. Massoud Pezeshkian, a reformist former heart surgeon was previously the Health Minister.
Pezeshkian, the sole moderate contender, had declared the actions of Iran’s morality police “immoral”. According to BBC, he said that “if wearing certain clothes is a sin, the behaviour towards women and girls is 100 times a greater sin.”
“Nowhere in religion is there any permission to confront someone because of their clothing”, he added.
Role of President in Iran
The next president is not expected to bring any major shift policy shift regarding the nuclear programme or support militia groups across the Middle East, as Khamenei makes all the major decisions.
However, the president's job is to run the day-to-day government and can also influence Iran's foreign and domestic policy.