When newspaper headlines across Tehran earlier this week declared Hashemi Rafsanjani, the reformist-leaning former president, to be a registered candidate for the presidential elections in Iran this June, even political observers were stunned. The registration of hopefuls for Iran’s June 14 election ran over a five-day period ending on March 11. The president is elected for a four-year term in a national election, but the Guardian Council, a body controlled by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, must first vet each registered candidate to ensure they satisfy the required criteria to serve as president. The Interior Ministry reported that more than 680 people applied for candidacy this year, of whom 30 per cent were women.
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