People decide, not elites: What to know about Iran’s presidential election

Iran is set to hold the snap presidential election on June 28 following the tragic death of President Ebrahim Raeisi with six contenders in race to succeed him. 

The Constitutional Council, previously known as the Guardian Council, sent the list of approved candidates to the Interior Ministry on Saturday after six days of vetting. 

The approved candidates include Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Saeed Jalili, Alireza Zakani, Masoud Pezeshkian, Mostafa Pour Mohammadi and Amirhossein Qazizadeh Hashemi. 

When it comes to elections in Iran – presidential or parliamentary – Western media outlets have never missed an opportunity to discredit and malign the country’s democratic institutions. 

These elections are often labeled as “engineered” with many pundits in the West believing that the Iranian elites “select” the country’s leadership rather than the electorate.

However, as independent observers have attested, elections in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution have always been vibrant and only the most eligible candidates are chosen by people.