Eighty candidates have registered for Iran's presidential elections on June 28. The primary issue is not the candidates' proposed plans, but rather who among them will be permitted to run by the Guardian Council.

Some ‘reformist’ politicians have strongly criticized the registration and approval process as well as the absence of more political heavy-weights among the candidates.

In a tweet Sunday, reformist politician and former secretary general of Executives of Construction Party (Kargozaran), Gholamhossein Karbaschi, called the registration of candidates a “comic show or stand-up comedy”.

The former mayor of Tehran accused authorities of wasting the country’s time and money to prepare the public’s mind for the obliteration of the concept of elections as a pillar of democracy.

This apparently referred to the many speculations and discussions over who will eventually be allowed by the Guardian Council to run, making the presidency an ‘appointed’ rather than ‘elected’ office.

“Nice looking suit, a few slow steps, waving the birth certificate and a few camera flashes... That's it!” Saeed Hajjarian, an influential politician often referred to as the ‘theoretician of reforms’, broke his silence and tweeted Sunday.

Hajjarian criticized the registered candidates for neither proposing a “coherent plan”, nor naming their candidates for cabinet positions. “This is not politics and elections whatever its name may be!” he wrote.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Among the politically heavy weight candidates, disqualification of the populist former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who registered on Sunday is almost certain. Many believe he has “registered to be disqualified” to boost his anti-establishment image.

Hardliners and Ultra-Hardliners

Many among hardliners and ultra-hardliners who make up the majority of the registered candidates, including Zohreh Elahian, the only woman registered so far, are unlikely to be approved by the Council whose members are appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, however, has no concerns over his qualification to run. If elected, his government will most likely be a replica of Ebrahim Raisi’s over whose administration Jalili wielded much influence.

Many believe that Alireza Zakani, the mayor of Tehran, has registered to run only in a supporting role and may withdraw in Jalili’s favor, as Jalili did for Raisi in 2021, or help him against other candidates in election debates.

It remains to be seen whether Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf and Raisi’s minister of road and urban development, Mehrdad Bazrpash, will appear at the interior ministry on Monday, the last day of registrations.

Ali Larijani

Former moderate conservative speaker of the parliament, Ali Larijani, who was barred from running in 2021 may or may not be allowed to stand. Larijani, observers say, is counting on Khamenei’s intervention to be approved.

‘Reformists’

So far four ‘reformists’ have registered to run but none has yet been declared as the candidate of the Reforms Front. ‘Reformists’ had indicated that they were willing to participate in the elections provided that the ruling establishment allows them to field their own candidates.

The umbrella reformist decision-making body has so far insisted that it will not support any candidates from outside the reformist camp like 2013 and 2017 elections in which it supported moderate conservative Hassan Rouhani.

At least one of the four reformists who have registered, namely former lawmaker Mahmoud Sadeghi who registered on Sunday, is unlikely to be approved.

Like Larijani, former lawmaker Masoud Pezeshkian whose popularity seems to be more than the other registered reformists is believed to be counting on Khamenei’s intervention.

Former lawmaker Mahmoud Sadeghi, a vocal critic of Khamenei, is very unlikely to be approved.

The umbrella reformist decision-making body is to hold another meeting Sunday evening to decide its position.

Former Governor of the Central Bank and a member of the Kargozaran, Naser Hemmati, is very likely to be approved but has little chance of winning, observers say. Hemmati was approved to run against Raisi in 2012 but his bid to presidency was not supported by other reformist parties and groups.

Hemmati came third with around 2.5 million votes (8.4 percent) after Mohsen Rezaei. In the same elections, a staggering 13 percent of voters had cast void or blank ballots.