Get to know the 6 Iranian presidential candidates approved by the Guardian Council to replace Raisi

JAKARTA – There are six presidential candidates (capres) Iran which was approved by the Guardian Council to compete in the presidential election (pilpres) on June 28. Some candidates are known as conservative politicians.

Reporting from news, the candidates are selected by Iran’s Guardian Council which oversees the elections. There are around 80 names registered as presidential candidates to compete to replace President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash on May 19.

Four women also applied to run, but were disqualified. Steps to eliminate female presidential candidates have occurred in every presidential election since Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979.

The figures of the 6 Iranian presidential candidates approved by the Guardian Council

1. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf or Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf who was born on August 23, 1961, is an Iranian conservative politician. He is a former military officer, and the current Speaker of the Iranian Parliament.

Ghalibaf served as mayor of Tehran from 2005 to 2017. He was also Iran’s police chief from 2000 to 2005 and commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Air Force from 1997 to 2000.

2. Saeed Jalili

The man who was born on September 6 1965 is a former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 2007 to 2013. Now he is a member of Iran’s Expediency Policy Council, and is also the country’s nuclear negotiator.

Jalili once served as Iran’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for European and American Affairs, and was an unsuccessful candidate in the June 2013 presidential election.

3. Masoud Pezeshkian

Member of the Iranian Parliament who represents the Tabriz, Osku and Azarshahr constituencies, was born on September 29, 1954. He is known as a reformist politician, and previously served as First Deputy Speaker of Parliament from May 29, 2016 to May 26, 2020.

Masoud Pezeshkian was Minister of Health between 2001 and 2005 in President Mohammad Khatami’s Cabinet. In addition, he was also the rector of the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences for 7 years.