Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s moderate president who is seeking re-election, faces a boisterous race after heavyweight conservative figures critical of his landmark nuclear agreement with the west put themselves up to challenge him.

Registration for candidates in Iran’s presidential elections next month ended on Saturday, with a record number of 1,636 people putting their names on the list, including 137 women. On Friday, Rouhani took his ID card, a few passport-sized photos and other paperwork to the interior ministry in Tehran’s Fatemi Street to register to run for a second term. His four predecessors have all served two conservative terms.

Ebrahim Raisi, a close ally of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose bid for presidency has upended the race, also registered on Friday. The former hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Tehran’s mayor, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, are among a handful of other serious candidates running.

The list of presidential hopefuls has been sent to the guardian council, a powerful body of jurists and clerics, which began a five-day vetting process on Sunday. A limited number of candidates are usually allowed through. Critics say the council has arbitrarily blocked many high-profile politicians in recent years, going beyond its constitutional responsibilities.

This year, all eyes are on the council to see if it will approve Ahmadinejad, who registered despite advice by Khamenei not to. The campaign period starts on 28 April and ends one day before the vote, which is scheduled for 19 May.

Ali Ansari, a professor of Iranian history at the University of St Andrews, said Raisi’s surprising decision to run has been “the fly in the ointment” in what could have been a relatively straightforward, albeit challenging, race for Rouhani to win a second term. Raisi’s rise to prominence over the past year has intrigued many commentators who speculate that he is being touted as a frontrunner to succeed Khamenei, a higher position than that of the president.

“I think definitely it has complicated the race,” Ansari said. “I think the fact that Raisi is coming, unless he steps aside, it looks very unlikely to me that the nezam [ruling system] would allow Raisi to be humiliated in an election. He hasn’t come to lose. He is an up-and-coming player in the system and in the last six months he’s basically come from nowhere.”

There are also concerns about Rouhani’s possible disqualification. That explains why his first deputy, Eshaq Jahangiri, a figure close to the reformists, also registered to run on Saturday. “I’m here to supplement Rouhani,” he said, meaning that his bid for the presidency was tactical and that he would drop out if Rouhani is allowed to run.

“Rouhani is not in as strong a position as we think he is, because he delivered the JCPOA [nuclear deal]. JCPOA in Iran is not seen as a giant triumph, and for me the problem for me is the way Rouhani sold it,” Ansari said. 



“He has stablised the economy, but I think he made a number of very exaggerated claims, and he is now paying the price in the popular mood. But in an open election I think people would vote for Rouhani . Rouhani is the best of a bad choice, but at the same time I don’t think he’s as clear a winner as some people in the west would like to think.”

Although women have registered, all female nominees have previously been blocked from running. Azam Talaghani, a former MP and the daughter of a prominent revolutionary ayatollah, is among the women who have put their names on the list to test whether the authorities would allow women to run. </s> Tehran, May 19, 2017: Ebrahim Raisi, the leading rival to President Hassan Rouhani in Friday's presidential election, is a hardline judge with close ties to the supreme leader who spent years in powerful backroom positions. Born into a religious family in the Shiite Muslim holy city of Mashhad on August 23, 1960, Raisi wears the black turban of a "seyed" whose genealogy is said to lead back to Prophet Mohammed.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Egypt Today. </s> Tehran: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the driving force behind a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, registered on Friday to run for re-election next month, state television footage showed.

The politically moderate cleric faces a tougher than expected battle for a second term on May 19 as criticism mounts over the continued stagnation of the economy.

The president appeared in the afternoon at the interior ministry, where registration to stand for the election runs until Saturday.

He has made much of his successes in controlling inflation and reaching a landmark nuclear deal with world powers that ended many sanctions. 

 "In every aspect that you consider, figures tell us that after the (nuclear deal), there is more space for movement and progress," he told reporters last week.

Rouhani`s support among moderate and reformist lawmakers remains solid, but disappointment with the 68-year-old`s administration is palpable on the streets.

Unemployment is stuck at 12 percent, the promised billions in foreign investment have not materialised, and he has failed to ease social restrictions or release political prisoners, including opposition figures held under house arrest for their part in 2009 protests.

The conservative opposition remains divided, but attention has lately focused on hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi, 56, who runs the powerful Imam Reza charitable foundation.

Raisi has emphasised his concern for the poor, and is seen as a close ally of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The conservative-controlled Guardian Council will vet the hundreds of registered hopefuls over the coming week, before releasing a final list of candidates. </s> Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will run in upcoming elections for a second term. Rouhani contributed to the landmark nuclear deal with six countries, including the US, in 2015. Hardliners in Iran believe he made too many concessions to reach a deal.Rouhani’s main rival in the elections will be conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi. Irans presidential elections will be held on 19 May. </s> ANKARA, April 14 (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, a pragmatist who championed the country's nuclear deal with world powers, registered on Friday to run for a second four-year term in the May presidential election, state TV reported.

Rouhani won election by a landslide in 2013 on a platform of ending the Islamic Republic's diplomatic isolation and creating a freer society.

The five-day registration period for the May 19 election started on Tuesday and will be followed by a process of vetting of the hopefuls by a hardline watchdog body, The Guardian Council.

Over 860 people have signed up so far for the vote. Several former ministers and hardliner former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are among those who have registered.

Despite months of talks, hardliners have been unable to unite behind a single candidate and Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appears to have not yet intervened to make them do so.

Within Iran's complex mix of clerical rulers and elected officials, Khamenei has the final say on all state matters.

Influential cleric Ebrahim Raisi, the custodian of a powerful organization in charge of Iran´s holiest shrine, appears to be the leading hardline candidate.

An ally of Khamenei, Raisi has yet to register for the vote, however. Prominent conservatives, including parliament speaker Ali Larijani, have thrown their support behind Rouhani. (Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Hugh Lawson) </s> Counting is underway on Saturday in Iran’s Presidential election, with the official turnout said to be at about 70 per cent, poll officials said.

Millions of Iranians flocked to polling stations on Friday to vote in the election that pits incumbent President Hassan Rouhani, who is seeking a second term, against a strong conservative opposition.

Rouhani’s main challenger is Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline cleric and former prosecutor who is close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

According to the Interior Ministry, over 40 million votes were cast on Friday and voting time was extended by five hours due to “requests” and the “enthusiastic participation of people”, reports the BBC.

If no-one wins more than 50 per cent of votes cast, a run-off will be held next week.

Every incumbent President has been re-elected in Iran since 1985, when Ayatollah Ali Khamenei himself won a second term.

He cast his ballot just minutes after polls opened at 8 a.m.

Rouhani voted about an hour later.

More than 54 million people were eligible to vote in the presidential election.

Six candidates were approved by the Guardian Council, an influential clerical body controlled by conservatives, but two of them dropped out earlier this week, the BBC reported.

The first was Tehran’s hard-line mayor, Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf, who pledged his support for Raisi on Monday.

He was followed on Tuesday by Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri, a reformist, who pulled out to smooth the path for Rouhani.

The two other candidates still in the race are Mostafa Hashemitaba, a reformist, and Mostafa Mirsalim, an ultra-conservative figure. </s> Supporters of the two leading candidates in Iran’s presidential election took to the streets as official campaigning came to an end.

But despite festive scenes ahead of Friday’s vote, there has been tension between the moderate and reformist forces and hardline fundamentalists with fiery exchanges.

It has turned into a tight race between incumbent President Hassan Rouhani, described as a pragmatist, and the hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi.

One young woman in Tehran told Euronews: “We’ve gone forward with hope and we think moderation is the best thing.

“We want it to happen. We want our candidate to win. We want to have hope.”

One young man said: “I’m holding both photos (Rouhani and Raisi) to say we’re all Iranians, that unity matters and no matter who we choose the important thing is to vote and choose by logic.”

As the campaigning came to an end there was an intervention by the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday.

He slammed the heated tone of the election campaign, describing it as “unworthy”.

Some observers read that as a thinly veiled attack on President Rouhani and his attacks on Raisi. </s> Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Mayor of Tehran, shows his ink-stained finger after registering his candidacy for the upcoming presidential elections at the ministry of interior in the capital Tehran on April 14, 2017 (AFP Photo/STR)

Tehran (AFP) - Registration for next month's Iranian presidential election closed on Saturday, with more than 1,600 hopefuls signing up, including a last-minute entry by Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

The 55-year-old conservative mayor had given mixed signals about whether he would make a third bid for the presidency, but showed up at the interior ministry just before the deadline for registration.

There was also a surprise last-minute entry from first vice-president Eshaq Jahangiri, a close confidante of President Hassan Rouhani who registered on Friday.

It is assumed Jahangiri, a 60-year-old reformist, is running to offer an alternative in case Rouhani is disqualified by the Guardian Council, which vets the candidates. Others speculate he could be trying to raise his profile ahead of a more concerted bid in 2021.

Rouhani, a politically moderate cleric who has stabilised the economy and overseen a partial rapprochement with the West, is widely seen as the man to beat, although there is little polling in Iran and past elections have thrown up major surprises.

His main challenger is considered to be hardline cleric and judge Ebrahim Raisi, 56, who also signed up on Friday.

Almost all will be disqualified over the coming fortnight by the Guardian Council, which is controlled by religious conservatives.

The council has never permitted a woman to run.

Around half a dozen candidates are normally approved, with the campaign set to start on April 28 and the vote on May 19.

Ghalibaf was the runner-up to Rouhani in 2013. He is a war veteran, former Revolutionary Guards commander and police chief, who was picked by a grouping of conservatives as one of their top choices last week, along with Raisi.

With much of the focus this year on Iran's stagnant economy, he told reporters at the registration that he would create five million jobs and more than double Iran's revenues.

The biggest surprise from this week's registration was the appearance of former hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 60, who shocked everyone by signing up against the advice of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. </s> ANKARA (REUTERS) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, a pragmatist who engineered the country's landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, registered on Friday (April 14) to run for a second four-year term in the May election, state television reported.

"Once again, I am here for Iran, for Islam, for freedom and for more stability in this country. I am urging all Iranians to vote for Iran and for Islam," Rouhani told reporters.

He won the election by a landslide in 2013 on a platform of ending the Islamic Republic's diplomatic isolation and creating a freer society, but faces a stiff challenge from conservative hardliners because of discontent over the economy.

Influential Shi'ite cleric Ebrahim Raisi, the custodian of a powerful organisation in charge of Iran's holiest shrine, appears to be the leading hardline candidate.

But despite months of talks, hardliners have been unable to unite behind a single candidate and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appears to have not yet intervened to make them do so.

Within Iran's complex mix of clerical rulers and elected officials, Khamenei has the final say on all state matters.

An ally of Khamenei, Raisi also registered on Friday for the vote. But some prominent conservatives, including parliament speaker Ali Larijani, have thrown their support behind Rouhani.

Though Rouhani won in a single round with more than 50 per cent of the vote in 2013 when no other candidate took more than 17 per cent, he could face a tougher campaign this time if hardliners join forces against him. Many Iranians have grown impatient with the slow rate of improvement in their economic fortunes since the lifting of sanctions after Iran curbed its disputed nuclear activity under its deal with world powers.

The five-day registration period for the May 19 election began on Tuesday and will be followed by a process of vetting of the hopefuls by a hardline watchdog body, the Guardian Council.

More than 950 people have signed up so far for the vote. Several former ministers and hardline former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are among those who have registered.
President Hassan Rouhani seeks for a second term while one of his main rivals Ebrahim Raisi also registers with just one day remaining for the submission.