Elections 2022 – Mohsen Mehralizadeh: Raisi should either resign from the post of head of the judiciary or withdraw from the candidacy

There are only eighteen days left until the presidential election, but there is still disagreement among those involved over when to hold the debates.

• Disagreement between the election headquarters and the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation over the timing of the debates

While the spokesperson for the election campaign announced that the debates would be held at a "measuring decision by the Minister of Interior" and due to the national team's soccer matches in Bahrain, the IRIB's public relations department said that the schedule remains unchanged and that the debates will not be rescheduled.

According to ISNA, the public relations director of the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation (IBRC) stated that the debates and World Cup qualifying football matches would not be held at the same time, explaining that "this issue had been taken into consideration from the beginning."

The widespread disqualification of well-known figures who held high positions in the Islamic Republic by the Guardian Council, as well as the support of Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, for this decision, has led to protests in recent days from reformists and even some fundamentalists, as well as warnings from senior regime officials about the consequences of the consolidation of power.

• Election candidates' promises

Mohsen Rezaei, a candidate in the 13th round of the presidential election, says: "By removing seven zeros" from the currency, Iran will "become the owner of one of the most valuable currencies in the world without any effort."

Mr. Rezaei, who was the secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council, was previously the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for 16 years and has run for president many times but has been defeated.

Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, who had previously spoken of allocating 500 million tomans to each couple for marriage and housing, has this time promised that he will provide "a monthly package of 300,000 tomans for every Iranian" and that his government will "bring peace to the people."

But Abdolnaser Hemmati urged people not to pay attention to the candidates' "populist slogans" because "we also have problems paying our employees' salaries."

Emphasizing that "sanctions have the most significant impact on the country's economy," he said he is running for president because this is "the last chance we have to solve the people's problems."

Mr. Hemmati was the head of the Central Bank, but was removed from this position on Sunday.

Alireza Zakani has said, "I want to create an environment in which people can direct their liquidity to the capital market," but he has not said how he intends to do this.

Ebrahim Raisi, another presidential candidate who is currently the head of the judiciary, has stated that "police and judicial actions against illegal imports and smuggling of goods are not enough; the roots of the mafia must be eradicated through the government."

But Mohsen Mehralizadeh has suggested that Ebrahim Raisi either resign as head of the judiciary or withdraw from the presidential race. He has said to Raisi: "How can they allow themselves to draw a line and define a red line for presidential candidates?"

Source: Voice of America