Haj Akhund Galdi Kamali, a senior member of the Sunni jurisprudential council of Iran, told his congregation in North Khorasan province to vote for Ebrahim Raisi. The Haj Akhund said “all of you dear Turkmen people of North Khorasan, wherever you are and whatever your inclination and thoughts, are expected to be an enthusiastic and public presence at the ballot box with your vote for Ayatollah Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi on Friday the 18th” of June.
Molavi Abdol-Hamid Esma’el-Zahi, the Friday Prayer leader in Zahedan and most senior Sunni Muslim figure in Iran, criticised the method for disqualifying presidential candidates in his Friday sermon, saying it will lead to a low participation rate. Abdol-Hamid added that “a ruler should not support just one certain group, but represent all religions, sects, ethnicities and minorities”, adding that “Iran belongs to all Iranians”. Abdol-Hamid’s congregation are mostly ethnic Baluch Sunni Muslims who live in one of the most deprived parts of the country.
Mojtaba Shoja’i, the Governor of Dalgan County in Sistan-Baluchistan Province, called for citizens to vote according to the ability, knowledge and energy of candidates rather than along ethnic, sectarian, tribal or family lines. While the Governor was referring specifically to local council elections due on the same day at the Presidential vote, his statement was relevant in both types of election.