KUALA LUMPUR – Iran’s First Vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, is expected to assume the presidency following Ebrahim Raisi’s tragic demise in a helicopter crash as the country prepares for snap elections.
The Iranian constitution stipulates that the first vice president take over “in the event of the president’s death, dismissal, resignation, absence, or illness for more than two months,” AFP reported.
Raisi, who was killed along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other officials, was nearing the end of his first four-year term as president.
Mokhber’s interim appointment hinges on the approval of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds the ultimate authority in all state matters.
According to the constitution, residential elections to pick a permanent successor are to be held within 50 days.
A council made up of the Parliament speaker, the head of the judiciary, and the vice president is to be tasked with organising the national vote.
Mokhber, 68, was appointed vice president as Raisi took office in August 2021.
He was born in Dezful, in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, where he held several official positions.
For years since 2007, Mokhber chaired the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order, a governmental organisation tasked with managing properties confiscated following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The foundation, established in the 1980s, has grown to become a major state economic conglomerate with shares in various sectors over the years.
Iranians head to the polls for presidential elections every four years since the Islamic Republic’s first vote in 1980.
The constitution sets a two-term limit for Iranian presidents.
The position of prime minister does not exist in Iran. The president, assisted by several vice presidents, is responsible for appointing and directing the cabinet. – May 20, 2024