Latest on Iran’s presidential election: Approved candidates to join live TV debates 

TABNAK: The approved presidential hopefuls will outline their plans for the post during the live TV debates held in 5 sections. They will be given an equal time to garner as many votes as possible in order to win the ticket to the office.

Each live broadcast will last for 4 hours this time, while it used to take three hours in previous elections rounds.

Iran will vote for a new president on June 28. Iran's Interior Ministry released the final list of six approved candidates for race which include Tehran Mayor, Alireza Zakani, former Iranian Nuclear Negotiator, Saeed Jalili, former Justice Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi, current Head of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs Amir Hossein Qazizadeh Hashemi, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and a reformist candidate who used to serve as former Health Minister Masoud Pezeshkian, who have all been qualified by Iran’s Guardian Council on Sunday.

The 6 candidates cleared by the vetting body will have two weeks to campaign, present their manifestos and participate in the televised debates before the election.

According to speculations, lawmaker Ali Nikzad is about to be appointed as chief of Ghalibaf’s elections campaign. Similarly, Pezeshkian has chosen Ali Abdolalizdeh, former minister of housing as his hand for the contest.

Several presidential hopefuls including Mohammad-Mehdi Zahedi, a parliament member, Mohammad Royanian, former Managing Director of Persepolis Football Club, Davood Manzour, Head of the Planning and Budget Organization and Habibollah Dehmardeh, a parliament member have dropped out of the contest.

All candidates have unanimously vowed to improve the country’s economy as Tehran has been targeted by cruel US-led western sanctions over its nuclear program.

The five-day registration for the elections concluded on June 3, with 80 candidates putting their names down for the race which also included former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and former Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani.

The five-day registration process kicked off on May 11 at the Interior Ministry in the Iranian capital Tehran.

The Constitutionally-mandated vetting body took six days to study the credentials of the candidates, including many high-profile names.

The Constitutional Council is tasked to vet the registered candidates within seven days, with the possibility of extending the period by another five days. 

According to Article 131 of the Islamic Republic’s Constitution, in the event that a president dies, resigns, becomes incapacitated, or is dismissed for more than two months without replacement, the first vice president assumes the mantle of leadership.

Mohammad Mokhber, who served as the first deputy president under Raeisi, has been serving as the acting president since May 19 with the approval of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.