ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iran’s Supreme Leader said on Friday that some presidential candidates who were barred from running in the June 18 election were “wronged” and asked the vetting body to “restore their honor.”
“In the vetting process some candidates were wronged. They were accused of untrue things that were unfortunately spread throughout the internet too. Protecting people’s honor is one of the most important issues. I call on the responsible bodies to restore their honor,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised speech on the occasion of the anniversary of the death of his predecessor Ruhollah Khomeini.
Just seven out of nearly 600 hopefuls were approved to run in the presidential election. Among those barred by the Guardian Council was an expected frontrunner Ali Larijani. Outgoing President Hassan Rouhani, who is close to Larijani, protested the rejection, writing a letter to Khamenei asking for him to intervene.
Khamenei also urged people to get out and vote. “All individuals should feel it to be their duty to not only take part in the elections but also to enjoin others to do so,” he said.
The election campaign kicked off with little public interest and voter turnout is expected to be low. The conservative chief justice Ebrahim Raisi is tipped to win.
Khamenei urged candidates to commit to social justice and anti-corruption platforms. “Each candidate must be committed to social justice, reducing rich-poor gap, boosting domestic production, and fighting corruption, smuggling and excessive imports. They must state this today so that if they do not do so after winning, supervisory bodies can hold them accountable,” he said.
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