TEHRAN – Iran is set to hold presidential election on June 28 after a meeting chaired by Tehran’s interim president, Mohammad Mokhber, which included the heads of branches of power.
The development comes as Ebrahim Raisi, who was a top contender to succeed new supreme leader, died in a helicopter crash near Azerbaijan border.
After the death of Raisi, the registration of candidates will occur from May 30 to June 3, with the election campaign running from June 12 to 27.
According to Article 131 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a council is formed to manage the country’s executive affairs for 50 days and prepare for the presidential elections.
After the tragic death, Mohammad Mokhber takes over as interim president. Mokhber was first vice president and is part of a three-person council, along with the speaker of parliament and the head of the judiciary, that will organize a new presidential election in the next two months.
Reports shared online claimed that Mokhber is close aide of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and he was first vice president in 2021 when Raisi was elected president.
Mokhber is known for his experience, he visited Russia in October, where Iran agreed to supply surface-to-surface missiles and more drones to Kremlin army. He is also member of the Expediency Discernment Council, and he previously remained deputy governor of Khuzestan Province, and chief of the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO).
He also served as an officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s medical corps during Iran-Iraq war.
Who is Ebrahim Raisi? Iranian President who died in plane crash
