Presidential election in Iran: three candidates throw in the towel

Published on : 06/17/2021 – 11:38

Of the seven Iranian presidential candidates, three of them announced Wednesday, June 16 that they were withdrawing, within 48 hours of the opening of the ballot. The first to withdraw his candidacy is Mohsen Mehralizadeh, former vice-president and one of the two reformers in the running. First reported without a source by the official Irna agency, the information was confirmed by a campaign spokesperson quoted by the Isna agency.

Four candidates still in the running

This spokesperson did not explain the reason for this withdrawal and Mr. Mehralizadeh had not provided any voting instructions in the early evening, less than twelve hours before the end of the electoral campaign (at 7 a.m. Thursday, i.e. 2:30 GMT).

Of the seven candidates initially in the running, Mr. Mehralizadeh was the only one not to exceed 1% of the voting intentions, according to the Iranian polling institute Ispa.

The two other candidates who threw in the towel on Wednesday are two ultra-conservatives, MP Aliréza Zakani, and Saïd Jalili, former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, according to their statements reproduced by the Iranian media.

Both called for a vote for the head of the Judicial Authority, Ebrahim Raïssi. According to Ispa, A. Zakani was credited with 3% of the voting intentions; S. Jalili, 3.5%.

Withdrawals are frequent during presidential elections in Iran, where last-minute rallies can be exchanged for government posts.

Favorite Raïssi

Ultraconservative without much charisma, Ebrahim Raïssi presents himself as the champion of the fight against corruption and the defense of the underprivileged classes. He is the big favorite in the poll, with the 38% he obtained four years ago. He also takes advantage of the absence of a strong opponent after the disqualification of several political figures who could have overshadowed him.

Friday’s election is due to take place as negotiations between the Islamic Republic and the international community on the Iran nuclear deal are being held in Vienna, against a backdrop of general discontent with the severe economic and social crisis that the Islamic Republic is going through. country.

According to the few polls available, abstention could exceed the record of 57% recorded during the legislative elections of 2020. The outgoing president, the moderate Hassan Rouhani, could not stand again after his two consecutive terms.

With AFP