Any campaigning before approval of presidential nominees illegal: Election official

The election authority at the Iranian Interior Ministry says any campaigning by presidential hopefuls before they are approved by the Constitutional Council is illegal.

Jamal Orf, the head of the election headquarters at the Iranian Ministry of the Interior, on Monday reminded hopefuls of the provisions of electoral law, under which no campaigning can take place by hopefuls unless they are already approved by the Constitutional Council.

The registration of hopefuls ended at the election headquarters in Tehran on Saturday (May 15), and the ministry forwarded the registration documents of all hopefuls to the Constitutional Council. The Council has been assessing the qualifications of the nominees since and will release the names of those who meet the requirements later.

That process will take until Thursday, but can potentially be extended for five more days. Approved candidates will then be allowed to start campaigning.

But one hopeful, namely former Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, earlier released a video clip intended for campaigning purposes, potentially violating electoral law governing campaigning. In the clip, footage was also used of Larijani arriving and registering at the election headquarters — another potential violation of electoral law, which prohibits the use of the venue for campaigning purposes.

Separately, Vahid Majid, the director of Iranian Cyber Police, said on Monday that the police unit would be monitoring cyberspace for potential violations of electoral law by hopefuls. Majid said the Cyber Police would also track such online behavior as insulting candidates, defamations, and the publication of material deemed to be private.

Iran’s 13th presidential election will be held on June 18.

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