TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iran’s Constitutional Council rejects claims its disqualification of several presidential hopefuls could affect voter turnout, saying surveys show social and economic issues are behind it.
“When it comes to verification and vetting, the impact of the Constitutional Council’s votes on the people’s participation is very little,” the council’s spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaee told Press TV in an interview.
“It’s usually most likely about economic issues, and maybe some political and social issues,” he added.
The Constitutional Council, Kadkhodaee said, carries out its responsibilities based on the Constitution and is duty-bound to do the vetting process.
“If a person is vetted and not approved, we are not to blame. We have to act on the basis of law.”
On Tuesday, the Constitutional Council — which supervises elections and vets candidates — announced seven hopefuls found qualified to run in the June 18 election.
They included former chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, veteran politician Mohsen Rezaei, and current Central Bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati and judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi.
The list also includes MPs Alireza Zakani and Amirhussein Ghazizadeh-Hashemi and ex-vice president Mohsen Mehralizadeh.
The Constitutional Council barred a number of hopefuls, including former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former parliament speaker Ali Larijani, current vice president Es’haq Jahangiri and MP Massoud Pezeshkian.
Fars news agency described the disqualification as a “no to those who created the status quo”, implying Iran’s economic problems which are widely seen the result of the current government’s mismanagement.
President Hassan Rouhani and his allies have blamed most of Iran’s economic woes on U.S. sanctions and given top priority to talks aimed at reviving Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal, which former U.S. president Donald Trump quit.
Rouhani on Wednesday described elections as a guarantee of the establishment’s legitimacy and a symbol of freedom of choice, calling on the people to turn out in high numbers to elect his successor.

He said his administration has taken all necessary measures to pave the way for a high turnout in the presidential election, and now it is up to people to choose the next president.
“The criterion will be the choice of people, who should go to the polling stations with complete freedom and understanding,” Rouhani stated, stressing that the election should result in national unity and solidarity.
“A magnificent election in the country guarantees the legitimacy of the establishment,” he added.
While the other hopefuls accepted their disqualification with serenity, Jahangiri who has come under immense criticism for his botched forex adjustment scheme said the vetting body bore all liabilities arising from the rejection.
In his interview, Kadkhodaee said the hopefuls who had failed to secure the Council’s approval could not object to the decision under law.
Only the Leader of the Islamic Revolution has the power under the Constitution to intervene and alter the decision, he said, adding by the time of the interview the Council had not received any guidance from Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
Earlier, Kadkhodaee said the body bases its decisions on election law, and not on political affiliations. He assured that the Council had meticulously examined the qualifications.
Raisi is the most-known candidate of the seven hopefuls, with opinion polling previously showing his anti-corruption campaign drew Iranian support.