TEHRAN: Iran has announced plans to hold its presidential election on June 28, following a meeting chaired by Tehran’s interim president, Mohammad Mokhber, alongside the heads of branches of power.
The decision comes in the wake of the untimely death of Ebrahim Raisi, a prominent candidate seen as a potential successor to the new supreme leader, in a helicopter crash near the Azerbaijan border.
According to the election schedule, candidate registration will take place from May 30 to June 3, with the election campaign slated to run from June 12 to 27.
As stipulated in Article 131 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a council is formed to oversee the country’s executive affairs for 50 days and prepare for the presidential elections.
Following Raisi’s tragic demise, Mohammad Mokhber has assumed the role of interim president. Mokhber, who previously served as the first vice president, is part of a three-person council, alongside the speaker of parliament and the head of the judiciary, tasked with organizing a new presidential election within the next two months.
Online reports suggest that Mokhber is a close aide of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and held the position of first vice president in 2021 during Raisi’s presidency.
Mokhber is recognized for his extensive experience, having undertaken significant diplomatic engagements such as a visit to Russia in October, during which Iran agreed to supply surface-to-surface missiles and additional drones to the Kremlin army. He is also a member of the Expediency Discernment Council and previously served as deputy governor of Khuzestan Province and chief of the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO). Additionally, Mokhber served as an officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s medical corps during the Iran-Iraq war.
