Raisi’s death: Iran vice president to take over as interim ahead of election
Following the death of Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian president, in a helicopter crash, the country’s first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, is expected to assume the presidency in preparation for the early elections.
According to the Iranian constitution, the first vice president takes over “in the event of the president’s death, dismissal, resignation, absence or illness for more than two months”.
The Informant247 gathered that the Iranian president Raisi, who died on Sunday alongside Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other officials, was nearing the end of his first four-year term as president.
However, Mokhber’s interim appointment requires the approval of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final word in all state affairs.
According to the Iranian constitution, the presidential elections to pick a permanent successor are to be held within 50 days, making up the parliament speaker, head of the judiciary, and the vice president.
Mokhber, 68, was appointed vice president as Raisi took office in August 2021.
The vice president was born in Dezful city 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.
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, and the president — assisted by several vice presidents — is responsible for appointing and directing the cabinet.
AFP
