Iran Elections 2024 to be held tomorrow, here is all about the poll

The Iranian presidential without any woman in the run is all set to be held tomorrow (Friday). This election is to choose the successor of former president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash last month. A total of 80 applicants, including four women, filed nominations of which the Guardian Council picked up six. Out of the six contenders, five hail from the conservative group while one is from the reformists.There are approximately 61 million registered voters aged between 18 and above. The turnout in this election is predicted very low for reasons including the public’s less interest in the polls calling them the revival of extremism. The winner will be determined by securing a majority. If one doesn’t get a majority, there will be a contest between two toppers on July 5, 2024. So far there is no clear-cut front-runner in this election. The winner will begin a four-year term as head of the Iranian executive branch of power.This election is being conducted at a time when there is deep socio-political displeasure, economic despairs, intensified tensions in the Middle East and stressed relations with the West. Some prominent figures barred from running in this election are Ali Larijani -the longest-serving former parliamentarian and adviser to the Supreme Leader, and Eshagh Jahangiri -vice president under Rouhani. Both these applicants were disqualified in 2021. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a two-term president was also excluded in 2017 and 2021 and is again blocked. Various recent surveys suggest the six candidates are divided into two tiers in terms of popularity with the electorate. Qalibaf, Jalili, and Pezeshkian attract support among likely voters. The other three – Zakani, Ghazizadeh, and Pourmohammadi each are polling in the low digits.Ghazizadeh Hashemi, 53, served Raisi’s vice presidents and as the head of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs. He ran in the 2021 presidential election and received just under 1 million votes. In debates, he urged the continuity of Raisi policies. Jaili is 58 years and ran in the 2013 presidential election and in 2021 he withdrew to support Raisi. Director CIA Bill Burns described him as “stupefyingly opaque” in talks. He maintains that Iran doesn’t need to negotiate over its nuclear program with the West. He maintains close ties with Khamenei, and not considered to be a front-runner. He focused on rural voters.
Pezeshkian 69-year-old is a heart surgeon and wants to renegotiate with the West and restart some nuclear deal. He says Iran needs to communicate with the world. The analysts believe Pezeshkian would need a heavy turnout to win. His campaign has so far focused on the youth vote, women and ethnic minorities.
Pourmohammadi, 64, is the only Shiite cleric running in this election. He is former interior minister of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and later as justice minister under Rouhani. In 2006, the United States State Department referred to Pourmohammadi as a “notorious human rights violator” for a leading role in the 1988 mass execution of several thousand political prisoners at Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. The Department also linked him to the so-called “chain murders” of activists and others in the 1990s. He insists the next president must deal with the world and criticized Iran’s arming of Russia in the war in Ukraine stating Tehran wasn’t getting enough back from Moscow for its support. He is backed by clerics.
Qalibaf, 62, is the parliamentary speaker. Analysts suggest he’s the front-runner in the campaign, with Jalili as a second. He is a former Tehran mayor with close ties to the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. He was alleged to be the part of a violent crackdown on Iranian university students in 1999. He reportedly ordered live gunfire to be used against students in 2003 while serving as the country’s police chief. He focused on the middle class, as well as promising more cash handouts for the poor in this election.
Zakani, 58 is the current mayor of Tehran. He backed Raisi in the 2021 presidential elections. He says Iran can neutralize the effects of international sanctions but should follow a diplomatic solution. He is a criticizer of reformists and moderates. He wants Iran stop using the dollar as a benchmark currency, and has called for Iran to create more value-added products from its oil to boost revenue. He promised free health care for women and old people, as well as cash payments to poor people and reviving Iran’s currency.
The 2021 election won by Raisi was the first presidential race under the Islamic Republic in which less than half of the electorate (48.8%) cast a ballot. Parliamentary elections in 2020 and March 2024 set records for low turnout (42.57 and 41% respectively). The decline in turnout since the last several years indicates the public’s disappointment with the system even in this election several organizations particularly of youth have boycotted. Many citizens doubt they can produce meaningful change through voting.
Though, Pezeshkian’s candidacy has to some extents renewed activity among reformists and centrists, who largely voted in 2021, but even then, he requires higher numbers to the polls that so far is unclear. He is also alleged to have now close to the supreme leader and is focusing on youth to vote for him. The conservatives are not unified even by factional and personal rivalries, and disagreements on policy. The two main nominees from this camp – Qalibaf and Jalili – differ over the importance of securing relief from US sanctions as a means of strengthening trade and securing foreign investment; the former suggests it as a necessity, while the latter emphasizes improving domestic production. Qalibaf and his associates face allegations of financial corruption, but they are known as experienced technocrats. Jalili is viewed as untainted but lacking practical experience. It is important to note that the dominant authority in the Iranian system is not the president but the Supreme Leader. However, the presidency has certain controls within the Iranian state like the power to appoint cabinet members, propose a budget, and serve as the system’s public-facing messenger. The president also chairs and has significant appointment powers over various councils that inform decision-making, including the Supreme National Security Council.
Whoever wine this election and emerges as the ninth president of the Republic will face multiple challenges. Social displeasure, which has fueled protests, and the pale economy are the chief concerns. Iran’s strained relations with Israel and the US, and the future of its nuclear program are also among them. (Rana Kashif has authored this article)