Two of the candidates approved to run for president by the Islamic Republic’s “Guardian Council” withdrew from consideration this week.
On Thursday, the state-controlled IRNA news agency announced that former vice president Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi and the mayor of Tehran, Alireza Zakani, decided to end their efforts to succeed Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May.
Both individuals were reportedly polling in the low single digits.
The recent decisions have reduced the race to four participants; however, observers highlight that the real competition revolves around three remaining contenders: two hardliners and one labeled as a "reformist."
This situation caused Zakani to recommend that the two conservative contestants, former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, settle their differences so as not to increase the chances of the more moderate heart surgeon, Masoud Pezeshkian.
Both Jalili and Qalibaf have stated that they intend to remain on the ballot.
Recent surveys have suggested that as many as three-quarters of Iranians plan on boycotting the election.
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