Reformist candidate Mohsen Mehr-Alizadeh said in an interview that he had no slogan as the people were tired of populist rhetoric that offered no solutions. Mehr-Alizadeh added that the country’s economic problems were not purely issues of economy, but also pointed to the general mismanagement of domestic matters, as well as poor foreign policy.
In commenting on Zahra Shojaei’s nomination for President, lawyer and Presidential advisor Shahindokht Molaverdi wrote on Instagram: “Unfortunately, in 1400 (2021), in the 21st century, we still see that being a man is considered a criterion for being human”. Molaverdi added that “the registration of Zahra Shojaei is a serious test for the Guardian Council; she is a political and religious figure (shakhsiyat-e siasi va mazhabi). Let women be among political people (rejal-e-siasi) andmen so that they can enjoy their most basic human right, which is the right to be elected”.
Ali Larijani, in his first Clubhouse appearance, said that he considered himself neither a Principalist nor a Reformist, but rather is close to the intellectual traditions of the early years of the Revolution, particularly Ayatollah Motahari and Ayatollah Beheshti. The Clubhouse session was attended by more than 3000 people, and well known journalists from the New York Times and the BBC were permitted to ask questions.
Senior Reformist candidate Mohsen Hashemi outlined why he nominated for this election in a column in Shargh today. Saying that while his participation exposed him to slander and potentially even violence, Hashemi said it was important that he was competing as Iranians needed the opportunity to chose his approach to reform. Hashemi proposed a reform package with dual social welfare and social justice goals, which he said was geared to the “re-engineering the structure of the Islamic Republic and constitutional reform” alongside preventing “the interference of parallel institutions in the duties of the three legal branches of the country”.
High profile female reformist candidate Zahra Shojaei said that there is no reason for her to be disqualified by the Guardian Council, and if she is not among the approved candidates on May 27, she will appeal for an explanation. Shojaei added that upon her registration, she was treated differently from other candidates and moved away from the live broadcast, adding that if she hadn’t protested to the Ministry of Interior, she believes that she would not have had the opportunity to speak to reporters at all. Shojaei added that if she is approved, and the Reform Front asks her to stand aside for a consensus candidate, she will comply with their decision.
Senior female Reformist politician, Zahra Shojaei, became the most high-profile woman to register in this election. Shojaei gave her reasons for registering as an effort towards the fulfilment of Ayatollah Khomeini’s words that “women should intervene in the basic destiny of the country”. Shojaei also registered at the same time as Saeed Jalili, and it was noted that unlike Jalili, she arrived modestly and without entourage or fanfare. Shojaei candidacy is another test of the Guardian Council’s interpretation of the Constitutional term “rajol-e siasi (politican man/person)”, and whether women will again be excluded from running.
Mostafa Tajzadeh, a minister in the Khatami government and supporter of Mir-Hossein Mousavi in the 2009 election (for which he spent seven years in prison), nominated today. In a speech following his registration, Tajzadeh said “Mostafa Tajzadeh criticized the suppression of political and social freedoms, saying, "I oppose the filtering of the internet, and I oppose the need to obtain the right to engage in political activity, with approving oversight", and that he was opposed to laws that discriminate against women, particularly compulsory hijab. He also criticised what he called Iran’s “costly anti-American and pro-Russian foreign policy”. Tajzadeh is unlikely to even be considered for vetting by the Guardian Council since the overseeing body changed the rules to bar people with criminal records.
The third day of registrations took place on the festival of Eid al-Fitr, the feast marking the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Among the prominent figures who registered were parliamentarians Mohammad-Reza Sabbaghian and Mahmoud Sadeghi, high-profile diplomat Ramin Mehmanparast, prominent Reformist Mohsen Mehr-Alizadeh.
Prominent conservative figure Ali Motahari was the most well-known candidate to register today. When asked if he would step aside for any candidate, he responded: “I enter the election independently and the Reformist consensus body did not pay attention to me”. Motahari, who has been known for controversial statements in recent weeks regarding the personal freedoms of women, sought to counter this image by saying he was opposed to the prohibition of women cycling.
A statement attributed to high-profile Reformist Mohammad Reza Aref is being circulated online which says he has withdrawn his candidacy. Aref served as First Vice-President in Mohammad Khatami’s government, but is rumoured to have fallen out with his former comrade over Khatami’s preference to endorse non-Reformist candidates on the Reformist ticket. Aref himself was pressured by Khatami to step aside for Rouhani in the 2013 election, which Aref did unwillingly.