Reformist candidate Eshaq Jahangiri, a deputy to President Hassan Rouhani, has dropped out of Iran's presidential election days before the vote. The widely expected move was likely to boost support for the incumbent.
Image: Quelle: movie.irblog.in
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Several Iranian news agencies reported Tuesday that Jahangiri (pictured right), who serves as senior vice president under Rouhani, had quit the race for the presidency. Voters will now have four candidates to choose from on Friday May 19.
"I have completed my historic duty and, together with you, I will vote for Rouhani to help continue on the path to progress for this country," Jahangiri said as he announced he was withdrawing his candidacy to a crowd of several thousand people gathered in the southern city of Shiraz, according to news agency ISNA, quoted by AFP.
"I ran as candidate to make the voice of reformists heard," he said.
Standing strategically
Jahangiri's withdrawal was widely expected, as he was thought to have entered the race strategically to back up Rouhani in pre-election debates and also potentially to ease concerns among the incumbent's allies that Rouhani might be disqualified by the Guardian Council, which vets candidates. Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's renewed candidacy was denied by this body.
With the two other remaining candidates not expected to gain a significant share of the votes, election watchers see Jahangiri's resignation as paving the way for a showdown between the pragmatist Rouhani and Ebrahim Raisi, a hard-liner believed to be the favorite of the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
On Monday, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf (top picture, left) also withdrew his candidacy for the presidential election to throw his support behind Raisi.
First elected president in 2013, Rouhani sought to improve civil liberties and rebuild ties with the West. His government signed a 2015 deal with six world powers which ended some international sanctions against the Islamic Republic in return for curbs to its nuclear program. However, many Iranians are yet to benefit from that deal and economic stagnation continues to plague the country. This has provided ammunition for Rouhani's conservative challengers as he runs for a second term.
Raisi and his allies have accused the president of failing to support the poor. Raisi, current head of the influential organization which protects the Imam Reza shrine, was a member of a panel which sentenced thousands of political prisoners to rapid execution during the 1980s.
Iran's homeless: Forced to live in cardboard cartons and vacant graves
Iran has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of homeless people in the past few years. Rights activists blame President Rouhani, who promised social justice during his election campaign, for the problem.
Image: IRNA
Beyond capacity
On one cold night in December, some 750 homeless people in Tehran went to a homeless shelter - called Khavaran - to stay warm. Until then, the shelter hadn't housed more than 400 people on a single night.
Image: IRNA
Warm shelter
Khavaran Hall is designed to house 600 people. This capacity is stretched to 1,100 on a winter night. The facility also accomodates seasonal workers who shower, eat one warm meal per day and sleep there. The causes of homelessness in Iran are unemployment, drug addiction, discrimination and poverty.
Image: Irna
Cardboard homes
Homeless people in Iran often use improvised shelters called "cartonkhab," originating from the use of cardboard cartons for shelter. In December 2016, a 28-year-old man from the city of Nahavand was found dead in a building under construction. He had been ejected from his home because of drug-related problems. His was only one of many such deaths in "cartonkhabs" throughout the Iranian cities.
Image: shabestan.ir
Child 'cartonkhabs'
This photo was published in social media in August last year. The Iranian social activists and media republished it and asked politicians to do something about child "cartonkhabs." Subsequently, the health department officials visited two areas in Tehran where they discovered 12 women and six children among the homeless. These women and children were then taken to a shelter.
Image: tnews
A grave situation
Only one week after the beginning of the government's homeless recovery plan, shocking news about the "gurkhabha" - homeless people who take shelter in vacant graves - broke on the media. The "Shahrvand" newspaper published a report about 50 women, men and children who spent the night sitting in open graves in the city of Nasirabad.
Image: Isna
Rouhani held responsible
The authorities forcefully removed "gurkhabha" from the graveyard. The conservative opposition has used this issue to criticize Iranian President Hassan Rouhani for not fulfilling his election promises. Rouhani had stated that he would alleviate poverty and work against social injustice.
Image: shahrvanddaily.ir
Pregnancy issues
Three percent of the homeless women last winter were pregnant, according to government statistics. Most drug-addicted homeless women don't go to the health facilities due to the fear of legal action. Reports say some women even sell their children through gang connections.
Image: Tasnimnews
Sterilization is not the solution
Masumeh Abad, a member of the Tehran City Hall, recently said the number of children being sold under these conditions is quite small. She also stated that a sterilization plan won't solve the general homelessness problem. Majid Rezazade, the director of the Center for Rehabilitation and Prevention of Drug Addiction, said these women should be treated so that they can return to a normal life.
Image: Isna
Working for the homeless
The non-governmental organizations in Iran have been working for the homeless people for decades. The "Tolue Bineshanha" (Sunrise of the Invisible) is one such organization that has been active since 2006 - providing food and social services to thousands of homeless Iranians.
