Iran's election process kicks off with several military candidates running for office
The registration of candidates for the Iranian presidential elections began on Tuesday, just over a month before the elections, in which the current president, Hasan Rohani, cannot be revalidated and several military officers aspire to replace him.
Many presidential hopefuls arrived at the Interior Ministry headquarters in the centre of Tehran early in the morning, in a process that will continue until next Saturday and which is the starting signal for the elections on 18 June.
The most prominent figures presenting their candidacies today were Said Mohamad, a military officer who until recently headed the Revolutionary Guard's largest construction and engineering conglomerate, and General and former Defence Minister Hosein Dehqan.
Mohamad told reporters that "a great change needs to take place in society" and urged "maximum participation" in the presidential election to bring about that transformation.
He also indicated that he is participating in the process "independently", without the backing of any of the country's main political blocs: the conservatives and the reformists.
"I don't want that support because the country has suffered the biggest blows due to the bipolar political environment. Our basis is meritocracy," stressed Mohamad, who describes himself as "a small soldier".
Given the record number of candidates with military backgrounds in this election, many fear that the traditional bipolarity between reformists and conservatives will result in a division between civilian and uniformed candidates.
Others are wary of the military's stance in the international arena, at a time of negotiations to save the 2015 nuclear deal and to get the US to lift its sanctions against Iran.
While Mohamad advocated a balance between West and East, Dehqan was more blunt, stating that he will not accept 'erosive negotiations' and that his programme 'will be based on interaction with friendly and Muslim countries'.
Several prominent figures have so far announced their intention to run in the elections, mainly from the conservative bloc, while the moderates and reformists seem to be "orphaned" of strong candidates for the time being. Rohani is not eligible for re-election as he has already served the maximum of two terms.
One name that sounded strongly today as a possible candidate, although he has not made a statement on the matter, was that of the ultraconservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi, current head of the judiciary and Rohani's rival in the last presidential elections of 2017.
In fact, a member of the executive board of the Unity Council of the Principalists (conservatives), Mohamad Yavad Mohamadí Nuri, announced that at least five leading presidential candidates would withdraw at the last minute in favour of Raisí.
In addition to the well-known aspirants, numerous anonymous faces appeared on this first day of registration at the Interior Ministry, decorated for the occasion with posters of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ruhollah Khomeini.
The photograph of these two leaders was displayed, for example, on the clothing of a cleric who signed up as a candidate. Other candidates made the victory sign and showed their identity cards to the press.
It is common in Iran for numerous non-politicians to register as candidates. In the 2017 presidential election, for example, there were some 1,600 applicants, although fewer than a dozen were qualified by the Guardian or Constitutional Council.
This powerful body has, after the end of the registration process, between five and ten days to evaluate the candidacies and qualify those personalities it deems optimal for the presidency, whose names it will announce on 26 or 27 May.
In order to avoid the avalanche of candidacies on other occasions, the Constitutional Council has specified a series of requirements for these elections: age (between 40 and 75), education (at least a master's degree) and experience in high political or military posts of at least four years, among others.
This new regulation has sparked some controversy in the country and even criticism from Rohani, who yesterday said that the Constitutional Council cannot dictate this type of regulation and urged the Interior Ministry to "act in accordance with the laws in force".
In an interview with Efe today, the spokesman for the Constitutional Council, Abbas Ali Kadjodai, said that it was "a misunderstanding" with the president and that they do not intend to legislate and have only fulfilled their supervisory function.
"Since the Islamic Revolution and up to the present, we did not have conditions for the registration of candidates in the presidential elections, while there were for municipal or parliamentary elections. This led to people registering who did not really meet any requirements to be president," he said.
For this reason, they have now proposed conditions during the registration process to the Interior Ministry so that at the stage of the final review of the candidacies the Guardian Council "can more easily fulfil its duty".
Asked about the likely turnout, Kadjodaí said he expected a turnout of more than 60%. A massive turnout is a key means of legitimisation for Iran's theocratic regime, especially in a vote like this year's, preceded by several waves of popular discontent due to the economic crisis.
