00:48Iran: Presidential candidates jockey to replace Ahmadinejad
Iran: Presidential candidates jockey to replace Ahmadinejad
The cream of Iran's political elite was out in force in Tehran on Saturday for the final day of candidate registration for the upcoming Presidential election. Frontrunners in the race to choose a successor to incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waited until the last moment to drop their names into contention, along with almost 700 other hopefuls.
The closing moments of the four-day registration period brought out the most likely replacements for Ahmadinejad, including the President's favoured candidate, current chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei. A former Revolutionary Guard intelligence officer and closely aligned with Ahmadinejad's Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran party, Mashaei briefly held the post of First Vice President before being removed at the insistence of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The chief of staff pledged not to stray from the course set by the leader he currently serves under. Standing alongside Ahmadinejad, who accompanied him to the registration office, he said: "I've put forward my candidacy on the request of my brother and friend President Ahmadinejad, whom I've known for more than 28 years. I intend to continue the course he began. I want to tell you that Mashaei is Ahmadinejad, and Ahmadinejad is Mashaei."
Mashaei may not have things his own way in the upcoming contest to win the votes of Iran's approximately 77 million people. Several strong candidates also registered on Saturday, including former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili.
Before they can stand for election, the candidates must be vetted by the Guardian Council, a judicial body that oversees the country's constitution. The candidates will not face the current President in the election, since he is barred by law from seeking a third term in office.
00:48Iran: Presidential candidates jockey to replace Ahmadinejad
The cream of Iran's political elite was out in force in Tehran on Saturday for the final day of candidate registration for the upcoming Presidential election. Frontrunners in the race to choose a successor to incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waited until the last moment to drop their names into contention, along with almost 700 other hopefuls.
The closing moments of the four-day registration period brought out the most likely replacements for Ahmadinejad, including the President's favoured candidate, current chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei. A former Revolutionary Guard intelligence officer and closely aligned with Ahmadinejad's Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran party, Mashaei briefly held the post of First Vice President before being removed at the insistence of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The chief of staff pledged not to stray from the course set by the leader he currently serves under. Standing alongside Ahmadinejad, who accompanied him to the registration office, he said: "I've put forward my candidacy on the request of my brother and friend President Ahmadinejad, whom I've known for more than 28 years. I intend to continue the course he began. I want to tell you that Mashaei is Ahmadinejad, and Ahmadinejad is Mashaei."
Mashaei may not have things his own way in the upcoming contest to win the votes of Iran's approximately 77 million people. Several strong candidates also registered on Saturday, including former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili.
Before they can stand for election, the candidates must be vetted by the Guardian Council, a judicial body that oversees the country's constitution. The candidates will not face the current President in the election, since he is barred by law from seeking a third term in office.