Iran's Presidential Candidates, Former Vice Presidents To Former Revolutionary Guard Commanders

Illustration of iran's 2016 elections. (Wikimedia Commons/Tasnim News Agency/Hamed Malekpour)

JAKARTA - Iran's election governing body, the Guardian Council approved seven names of candidates who will fight in the Presidential Election on June 18.

In an announcement on Tuesday, the government body tasked with overseeing voting and vetting candidates, said only seven of the 592 candidates who registered last week passed the week-long vetting process.

Iranian Guard Council spokesman Abbas Ali Kodkhodaei said the list had been sent to the Interior Ministry, which will make an official announcement, according to Yenisafak on Tuesday, May 25. However, he did not detail the names of the approved candidates.

Yesterday, the Fars News Agency published a leaked list of approved candidates, consisting of court chief Ebrahim Raeisi, former chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, former Revolutionary Guard Commander Mohsen Rezaei, Iranian Central Bank chief AbdolNaser Hemmati, Deputy Speaker of parliament Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh, former vice president Mohsen Mehralizadeh, and former lawmaker Alireza Zakani.

The list, however, did not include the names of key reformist candidates, including Ishaq Jahangiri, President Hassan Rouhani's first vice president.

Other candidates including former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and former Revolutionary Guard official Saeed Mohammad have also been disqualified.

Iran will vote on June 18 to elect a new government, when Rouhani's reformist government completes two terms in office. A current president cannot run for a third consecutive term, according to Iran's constitution.

A total of 592 candidates had registered earlier this month to run in Iran's Presidential Election, before their nominations were sent to the Guardian Council for examination.

Speculation has been rife over the past week about the possibility of several reformist and conservative figures, facing disqualification from the Guardian Council, which recently came out with a directive setting new criteria for presidential candidates.

According to the directive, each candidate must be between 40 and 75 years of age, must have a master's degree or equivalent, must have at least 4 years of management experience in a state organization, or must have served as a minister, or a city governor with more than two million inhabitants, or have been the supreme commander of an armed force with a major general rank or higher. Candidates should also not have criminal records or prison histories.

The directive raised tensions in the days between the Guardian Council and President Rouhani's office. What's more, the election comes at a crucial time, where Iran is in the international spotlight over the 2015 Nuclear Agreement that Iranian conservatives dislike.

With conservatives well positioned to wrest power from reformists, all eyes are on how Rouhani's successor pursues negotiating issues and talks on issues with surrounding countries, including Saudi Arabia.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has called for high participation in upcoming elections without endorsing any candidate. However, with top reformers facing disqualification, observers worry turnout could be affected.