TEHRAN: Among 2 reformists accepted to operate in the week’s Iranian presidential, Mohsen Mehralizadeh, on Wednesday withdrew his candidacy, Iranian media reported.
That leaves six hopefuls from the race because of Friday’s election, widely expected to be obtained by ultraconservative judiciary main Ebrahim Raisi.
Former Vice President Mehralizadeh, 64, was one of just two reformists allowed to operate at the election to replace President Hassan Rouhani, that has served the maximum two successive terms.
Mehralizadeh’s withdrawal was initially reported from the state IRNA news agency, that didn’t provide a source, then by its own counterpart ISNA, that lent a spokesman for his effort.
The spokesman gave no excuse but said a formal announcement could be issued”within a couple of hours”, ISNA said.
Mehralizadeh was research in pre-election view polls, the sole candidate to evaluate less than 1 percentage of voter goals, as stated by the ISPA polling institute.
His death leaves only 1 candidate in the race who’s regarded as a reformist, former central bank chief Abdolnasser Hemmati, 66.
Nevertheless, the obvious front-runner is Raisi, viewed as near to the ultimate leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, following the disqualification of numerous political figures who introduced a substantial challenge to him in the ballot box.
The election comes as Tehran is currently in discussions with world powers directed at rescuing a milestone 2015 nuclear bargain, and also against a background of popular discontent to a serious economic and social catastrophe in the sanctions-hit nation.
In accordance with the couple polls readily available, voter abstention can surpass the list of 57 percent listed in parliamentary elections this past year.