Akhundi: Election Atmosphere is Cold

Reformist candidate Abbas Akhundi stated in an opinion piece that the atmosphere surrounding this election is cold, and the government needs to shift its approach if it wants to attract the “silent majority”. Akhundi associated the limited number and general homogeneity of vetted candidates with public apathy to the election, arguing that “only through transformational discourse, by understanding the issues of Iran and empathising with the nation, will we find a way to break this freeze and create hope”. Akhundi was nominated as a candidate for the Reformist Front on Sunday, and named on a corruption indictment on the same day. 

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Guardian Council Changes Presidential Law

The Guardian Council, which vets the candidates, has notified the Ministry of Interior, which is responsible for managing the election, that it has added new conditions for candidates this election. This includes that candidates will have to be between the ages of 40 and 75, a ruling that will exclude candidate Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi. A second condition is that candidates cannot have a criminal history, which will exclude several potential candidates, such as Reformist Mostafa Tajzadeh, and two female candidates, Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani and Shahindokht Molaverdi. The Guardian Council had been trying to change the Presidential law for more than six months but has been blocked by the Parliament. 

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