Iran opens registration for presidential election in June

Iran has opened a five-day registration period for hopefuls wanting to run in the June 28 presidential election to replace the late Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash earlier this month with seven others.

The election comes as Iran grapples with the aftermath of the May 19 crash.

The five-day period will see those between the ages of 40 to 75 with at least a master's degree register as potential candidates.

All candidates ultimately must be approved by Iran's 12-member Guardian Council, a panel of clerics and jurists ultimately overseen by Ali Khamenei, the country's supreme leader.

Ahmad Vahidi, Iran's interior minister, opened the registration period on Thursday.

The Interior Ministry, in charge of the country's police, run Iranian elections with no substantial international observation.

"These elections, like the parliamentary elections, will be held in complete safety and health, with good competition and wide participation of all dear people," Vahidi said.

Raisi, a protege of Khamenei, won Iran's 2021 presidential election. That vote saw the lowest turnout in Iran's history for a presidential election. This year's parliamentary vote saw an even-lower turnout amid widespread boycott calls. Who will run — and potentially be accepted — remains in question.

The country's acting president, Mohammad Mokhber, a previously behind-the-scenes bureaucrat, could be a front-runner, because he's already been seen meeting with Khamenei.

Also discussed as possible aspirants are former hard-line President Mohammad Ahmadinejad and former reformist President Mohammad Khatami — but whether they'd be allowed to run is another question.

The five-day registration period will close on Tuesday, June 4. The Guardian Council is expected to issue its final list of candidates within 10 days afterwards. That will allow for a shortened two-week campaign before the vote in late June.

Raisi is just the second Iranian president to die in office. In 1981, a bomb blast killed President Mohammad Ali Rajai in the chaotic days after the Iranian Revolution.