Qalibaf Withdraws in Favor of Ebrahim Raisi
Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, one of three principlist candidates in the presidential election, withdrew from the race and asked his supporters to vote for Ebrahim Raisi. Qalibaf was positioned lower than Raisi in recent polls.
Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, one of three principlist candidates in the presidential election, contrary to his previous statements, withdrew from the competition on Monday afternoon (May 15) and announced his support for Ebrahim Raisi, another candidate of the “Islamic Revolution People’s Front” (Jamna).
Qalibaf made this decision after the Jamna central council meeting on Monday, May 15. The Tasnim news agency wrote: “In this meeting, given the readiness announcement of both front candidates (Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi and Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf) to withdraw in favor of each other, ultimately Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf announced his withdrawal from the presidential race and emphasized that he will devote all his efforts to the victory of Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi over the ‘incompetent and incapable government.'”
One member of Qalibaf’s headquarters told Tasnim news agency: “He [Raisi] graciously announced his readiness to withdraw in favor of Qalibaf, but overall it was in the public interest that Mr. Qalibaf withdraw. However, Mr. Qalibaf will not leave the scene, and his headquarters will not close. Instead, from this moment on, all their power and energy will be directed toward the victory of Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi over the head of the incompetent, incapable, and aristocratic government.”
In recent polls, Qalibaf was positioned lower than Raisi. Qalibaf’s decline in position became more apparent especially after the third televised debate of the candidates on Friday (May 12).
In a statement released immediately after withdrawing from the race, Qalibaf said that “despite having a precise and comprehensive program to solve the country’s problems,” he has “made a fundamental and serious decision for unity in the revolutionary front.”
The Mayor of Tehran continued in his statement: “I ask all my popular supporters throughout the country to devote all their capacity and support to the success of our esteemed brother Hojjat-al-Islam wal-Muslimin Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi and to establish a government of work and dignity in service to the people.”
Some Iranian media outlets reported on the morning of Monday (May 15) of an “electoral shock” in the principlist camp and wrote that principalists had almost unanimously agreed that Qalibaf and Mireslim should withdraw in favor of Raisi in the last two or three days.
Polls from the beginning of the election campaign period showed Qalibaf in second place after Hassan Rouhani, and Ebrahim Raisi in third place. However, Raisi’s position gradually improved and approached Qalibaf’s position.
In addition to Raisi’s improved position relative to Qalibaf in polls, Qalibaf in recent weeks was unable to gain the favorable opinion of many principlist figures and institutions, and most of them supported Ebrahim Raisi. Principlist religious authorities and traditional institutions of principalists such as the Society of Clergy and the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom have positioned themselves behind Raisi.
The “Ipo” poll conducted one day after the last debate of the candidates shows that Hassan Rouhani, with more than 53 percent of votes, still maintains his distance from his two main rivals.
Source: DW
