News
Polls open in Iran for presidential election
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Polls in Iran opened on Friday for a presidential election following the death of ultraconservative president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month.
The Guardian Council, which vets candidates, allowed him to run against a field of conservatives now dominated by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.
Also left in contention is cleric Mostafa Pourmohammadi after two ultraconservatives dropped out — Tehran major Alireza Zakani and Raisi’s former vice president Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi.
“We start the elections” for the country’s 14th presidential ballot, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said in a televised address.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cast his ballot shortly after the polls opened and urged Iranians to vote.
“Election day is a day of joy and happiness for us Iranians,” he said in a televised speech where he also called for a high turnout.
“We encourage our dear people to take the issue of voting seriously and participate,” he said.
The election in sanctions-hit Iran comes at a time of high regional tensions between the Islamic Republic and its arch-foes Israel and the United States as the Gaza war rages on.
Polls opened at 8:00 am (0430 GMT) in 58,640 stations across the country, mostly in schools and mosques.
Polling stations will be open for 10 hours, though authorities could extend voting time as in previous elections.
Early projections of the results are expected by Saturday morning and official results by Sunday.
If no candidate wins 50 per cent of the vote, a second round will be held on July 5, for only the second time in Iranian electoral history after the 2005 vote went to a runoff.
The candidacy of Pezeshkian, until recently a relative unknown, has revived cautious hopes for Iran’s reformist wing after years of dominance by the conservative and ultraconservative camps.
Iran’s last reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, praised him as “honest, fair and caring”.
Khatami, who served from 1997 to 2005, had also endorsed the moderate Hassan Rouhani, who won the presidency and sealed Iran’s nuclear deal in 2015 with Western powers before it was derailed three years later.
The Iranian opposition, particularly in the diaspora, has called for a boycott of the vote.
Ultimate political power in Iran is held by Khamenei, the supreme leader.
Khamenei insisted this week that “the most qualified candidate” must be “the one who truly believes in the principles of the Islamic Revolution” of 1979 that overthrew the US-backed monarchy.
The next president, he said, must allow Iran “to move forward without being dependent on foreign countries”.
However, Khamenei also said that Iran should not “cut its relations with the world”.
During campaign debates, Jalili criticised the moderates for having signed the 2015 nuclear accord which promised Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on the programme.
Jalili said the deal, which the United States withdrew from in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump, “did not benefit Iran at all”.
Pezeshkian has urged efforts to salvage the agreement and lift crippling sanctions on the Iranian economy.
“Are we supposed to be eternally hostile to America, or do we aspire to resolve our problems with this country?” he asked.
The contentious issue of compulsory head covering for women also emerged during the campaign, almost two years since a vast protest movement swept the country after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22.
An Iranian Kurd, Amini had been arrested for an alleged violation of the country’s strict dress code for women.
In the televised debates, all candidates distanced themselves from the sometimes heavy-handed police arrests of women refusing to wear the hijab head covering in public.
Pourmohammadi, the only clerical candidate, said that “under no circumstances should we treat Iranian women with such cruelty.”
The lawmaker representing Kaura Namoda South Constituency in the Zamfara State House of Assembly, Aminu Ibrahim Kasuwar-Daji, has died.
It was gathered that the lawmaker passed on in his sleep during the early hours of Wednesday.
Aminu Ibrahim Kasuwar-Daji’s sudden death came as a shock to many in the state, especially his colleagues and political associates.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara, the party under which he was elected, expressed deep sorrow over his passage.
Members of the party, including the State Working Committee and other supporters, described his death as a great loss.
They said he was known for his dedication and honesty in serving his people.
His family, community members in Kaura Namoda South, and fellow lawmakers have been thrown into mourning as preparations for his burial began.
According to Islamic rites, he was buried today at 3:00 pm in his hometown of Kasuwar-Daji, located in the Kaura Namoda Local Government Area.
Many in the state have continued to express grief as they remember the role he played in representing the people and contributing to the work of the state assembly.
Mr. Sam Olumekun has taken over at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as Acting Chairman.
Olumekun is INEC’s National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education.
He performed his first duties today, receiving a high-level delegation of the Labour Party (LP) at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja with other National Commissioners in attendance.
The delegation was led by Abia State Governor Dr. Alex Otti, who visited the Commission to discuss key developments within the Labour Party.
It was gathered that both parties engaged in discussions centered on enhancing collaboration and reinforcing democratic values.
During the visit, Governor Otti formally presented a Certified True Copy of the recent Supreme Court judgment concerning the party’s leadership.
He noted that the meeting was aimed at fostering clarity, mutual understanding, and institutional alignment regarding the Labour Party’s current structure.
Mr. Olumekun, the Acting INEC Chairman, reaffirmed the Commission’s unwavering commitment to neutrality, transparency, and the rule of law in the discharge of its constitutional responsibilities.
Recall that a viral WhatsApp message had indicated that Prof. Mahmood was sacked by President Bola Tinubu and replaced with one Prof. Bashiru Olamilekan.
“INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmud Yakubu has been replaced with Prof. Bashiru Olamilekan by President Tinubu,” the message, which had no attribution, read. However, both INEC and the Presidency debunked the widespread report.
Yakubu, who is rounding off his second tenure in office, is expected to exit the system towards the end of this year.
The process of appointing an INEC chairman is the President nominating a candidate and forwarding his particulars to the Department of State Services (DSS) for profiling.
After such screening, the President, thereafter, takes the name to the National Council of State for its advisory review.
Based on the outcome, the President sends the name to the Senate for screening and confirmation.
Crude oil prices have dropped below $57, following a previous rate of $59.78.
This decline coincides with the imposition of tariffs on several countries by US President Donald Trump.
A report from West Texas Intermediate attributes this price slump to consistent 6% reductions observed last week.
JPMorgan Chase & Co has warned that these tariffs could likely push both the US and global economies into a recession this year.
The financial institution explained that the tariffs, set to take effect this week, are expected to have widespread economic repercussions.
Market analysts and the business community have expressed concerns about the negative implications of these measures, predicting a slowdown in economic activities and a subsequent decline in oil demand.
-
News15 hours agoBanditry:” I was chained for 32days while in their den, killed my wife as I watch-Nat’l Assembly DD narrates experience
-
News10 hours agoPolice Inspector Slumps, Dies While Celebrating After Arsenal Wallop Real Madrid 3-0
-
News16 hours agoUS revokes more than 500 foreign student visas
-
News22 hours agoBandits have seized control of 64 communities in Plateau – Gov Muftwang
-
News17 hours agoIbas picks administrators for 23 Rivers LGs(SEE list)
-
Economy22 hours agoMobile Money transactions hit $1.68trn in one year
-
News9 hours ago
SAD! APC lawmaker dies while asleep
-
News23 hours agoRibadu warns against ransom payment to terrorists, kidnappers, others