Second candidate, Alireza Zakani, drops out of Iran presidential race
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Zakani is the second contender to withdraw after candidate Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi.
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In this picture by Iranian state-run TV, IRIB, presidential candidate Alireza Zakani in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (IRIB via AP)
A day before Iran's presidential elections, candidate Alireza Zakani and the current mayor of the capital announced on his X account that he is withdrawing from the race.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم
— AliReza Zakani | علیرضا زاکانی (@arzakani4) June 27, 2024
"يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنوا مَن يَرتَدَّ مِنكُم عَن دينِهِ فَسَوفَ يَأتِي اللَّهُ بِقَومٍ يُحِبُّهُم وَيُحِبّونَهُ أَذِلَّةٍ عَلَى المُؤمِنينَ أَعِزَّةٍ عَلَى الكافِرينَ يُجاهِدونَ في سَبيلِ اللَّهِ وَلا يَخافونَ لَومَةَ لائِمٍ ۚ ذٰلِكَ فَضلُ اللَّهِ… https://t.co/oyaOHgejgD
He called on either candidate Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf or Saeed Jalili to leave the race and secure victory for the Revolutionary Front.
Zakani is the second contender to withdraw after candidate Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi announced his withdrawal on Wednesday.
Candidates remaining are Saeed Jalili, a former lead nuclear negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iranian Parliament speaker, Mostafa Pour Mohammadi, former interior minister, and Masoud Pezeshkian, former health minister.
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Qalibaf denied reports that he was withdrawing from the electoral competition, dismissing them as "rumors raised by a few."
While traveling between his electoral stations in various provinces yesterday, he emphasized that he would fulfill the promise he made to the Iranian people and remain in the electoral race until the end. He stated that if he had wanted to withdraw, he would have stayed in Parliament.
He added, "The current circumstances necessitate the implementation of the seventh five-year plan to achieve economic growth and relieve pressure on the people."
In this context, Mojtaba Arab, a member of candidate Saeed Jalili’s campaign, said in an interview for Al Mayadeen that so far, Jalili has no intention of withdrawing from the presidential race, stressing that what is being circulated in this regard are rumors.
