The hardline speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, registered yesterday for the presidential elections in Iran, which will be held on June 28 , reported the Associated Press, quoted by BTA.
Yesterday was the last day to register for the election to be held to determine a successor to the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash on May 19.
Ghalibaf initially became a parliamentary speaker after a series of unsuccessful presidential bids and 12 years in charge of the Iranian capital - while mayor of Tehran, he developed the city's metro and promoted the construction of skyscrapers. He was recently re-elected as Speaker of the Parliament.
To many, however, Ghalibaf is known for his support for the violent suppression of Iranian student protests in 1999 when he was a general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In his role as police chief, Ghalibaf is also alleged to have ordered the shooting of students in 2003.