Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad registered as a candidate on Sunday for the upcoming election to the office he held between 2005 and 2013, Iranian media reported.<\/p>\n
Ahmadinejad’s controversial presidency was noted for his anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic statements. He was accused of denying the Holocaust as well as of calling for the destruction of Israel.<\/p>\n
He has recently drawn attention through remarks critical of the Iranian government and is thought to have fallen into disfavour with the establishment as a result.<\/p>\n
Iranians will vote for a new president on June 28 following the death of the previous incumbent Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month. Registration closes on Monday, with around 20 candidates having registered so far, according to state radio.<\/p>\n
The country’s Guardian Council, made up of clerics and legal experts, will then decide which candidates will go forward. In the past, only candidates seen as loyal to the country’s system have been allowed to stand.<\/p>\n
The Iranian president serves as head of government, but not as head of state. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has been in office since 1989, holds ultimate power.<\/p>\n
Observers are predicting low turnout for the elections amid widespread disillusion and political repression. Turnout hit a new low of around 40% in parliamentary elections earlier this year.<\/p>\n