The presidential election of the Islamic Republic of Iran is today. Voting will begin at 8 am local time on Friday (June 28). The country is holding elections a year ahead of schedule after President Ibrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash last month.

This West Asian country will find a new president through this election. Reuters reported this information in a report on Friday.

Iranians will vote for a new president on Friday following the death of Ibrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, according to reports. At this time of growing public frustration, four candidates loyal to the supreme leader are contesting this time.

Although the election is unlikely to lead to major changes in the Islamic Republic of Iran’s policies, the outcome of the vote could affect the legacy of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s 85-year-old Supreme Leader, who has ruled for three and a half decades.

Khamenei called for the “maximum number” of voters to vote to overcome a legitimacy crisis caused by economic hardship and public discontent over political and social freedoms, Reuters said.

Mainly due to various political and social restrictions, voter turnout in various elections in the country has decreased in the last four years.

Polling will begin at 8 am local time (10:30 am Bangladesh time) on Friday and will continue until 6 pm, but polling may be extended to midnight if voters are present, the news agency said.

Besides, since the ballots are counted manually after the polling, the final results are expected to be declared in the next two days. Although the initial trends or preliminary statistics of the results may come out soon.

If a candidate does not win by at least 50 percent of all ballots cast, including void votes, a run-off round of voting between the top two candidates is held on the first Friday after the election results are declared.

Three of the candidates contesting the election are hardliners and one is relatively moderate. The moderate candidate is being supported by the reformist party.

The spokesman of Iran’s Guardian Council said on Thursday that 95 countries will vote for the presidential election on Friday. Basically, Iranian citizens residing in those countries will have the opportunity to exercise their voting rights.

In addition, voters will have the opportunity to vote at 59,000 polling stations inside Iran.

Guardian Council spokesman Hadi Tahan Nazif said voting will begin at 8 a.m. on Friday. Polling will be held for 10 hours as usual. However, if necessary, the voting time can be extended. Those voting abroad will also fall under the same rules.

Incidentally, after reviewing the records of 80 people who are interested in competing in the presidential election, the Guardian Council of Iran announced six people as qualified candidates according to Article 115 of the Constitution. These six candidates then campaigned extensively and participated in televised debates.

But later, two of the six candidates announced their withdrawal from the election in support of others. As a result, four candidates of this year’s election remained in competition. These four candidates are – Masoud Pezeshkian, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Saeed Jalili and Mohammad Baker Kalibuf.

It should be noted that President Ibrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter accident on May 19. The country then set the date for early presidential elections on June 28. By this, elections are being held in the country one year before the scheduled time.

According to the country’s constitution, if a president dies, elections must be held within 50 days to choose a new president. As a result, parties get very little time to officially announce their candidates.

However, former influential President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad registered to participate in this election. But his registration was not accepted by the Guardian Council. The council consists of Iranian religious figures and judges. Which is led by the supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Besides, like other elections, this council did not give a chance to any woman to be a candidate in Iran. Besides, those who want a radical change in the governance system of the country did not get a chance to be a candidate in the election.

The best-known candidate in the early presidential election is 62-year-old Bucker Koliboff. He is the former mayor of the capital Tehran. Besides, he has a good relationship with the powerful Revolutionary Guards of the country.

Business Bangladesh/AK