The former president of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has registered to run for president in the country’s upcoming snap elections organised after the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, Iran’s state television reported on Sunday (June 2).
In the previous weeks, Ahmadinejad had kept voters guessing and said he was “checking the conditions to decide whether to register”.
The country’s cleric-led Guardian Council will vet candidates, and publish the list of qualified ones on June 11.
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Under Iran’s election process, candidates have several days to formally register starting on May 30.
The June vote will be held during a turbulent time, as the Gaza war rages between Israel and Hamas, and amid continued diplomatic tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Raisi’s vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, 68, assumed interim duties after Raisi’s death, including organising the June election.
The lead-up to the early vote on June 28 has opened up the field to a broad range of hopefuls from all political parties.