Hours before electoral silence: Iranian Presidential candidate Alireza Zakani withdraws

Shafaq News/ Alireza Zakani, currently the mayor of Tehran, announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential elections.

Zakani posted on his X account on Thursday, a day before the elections, urging other candidates, either Mohammad Bagheri Ghalibaf or Saeed Jalili, to leave the race to secure victory for the "Revolutionary Front."

Zakani, a former commander of the IRGC-affiliated Basij and an ultra-conservative ex-parliamentarian had been previously disqualified from the presidential race in 2013 and 2017 and withdrew from the 2021 race in favor of Ebrahim Raisi.

He became the second contender to quit the contest after Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi announced his withdrawal in a statement on Wednesday.

Ghazizadeh, 53, withdrew his candidacy and urged other candidates to do the same "to strengthen the front of the revolution."

"In order to maintain the unity of the forces of the revolution, I withdraw from the election," Ghazizadeh wrote on his X account.

Ghazizadeh served as one of Raisi's deputies and was the head of the "Foundation for Martyrs and Veterans Affairs." He previously ran in the 2021 presidential election, securing around one million votes and finishing in last place.

Such withdrawals are common in the final hours leading up to Iranian presidential elections, particularly within the 24 hours before voting begins when campaigns enter a mandatory silence period.

The candidates remaining in the race are Saeed Jalili, a former lead nuclear negotiator; Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iranian Parliament speaker; Mostafa Pourmohammadi, former interior minister; and Masoud Pezeshkian, former health minister.

Iran's 14th presidential election, initially set for 2025, was rescheduled following late President Ebrahim Raisi's death in a helicopter crash in the country's mountainous northwestern region on May 19, along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and other officials.

Voters are set to head to the polls on Friday for an election that will likely reveal the Iranian establishment's plans for the country.

A new survey published by ISPA revealed that reformist candidate Masoud Pezekshian is leading the polls, followed closely by conservative candidate Saeed Jalili.