20th May, 2024
By Taiwo Okanlawon
Iran’s first Vice President, Mohammad Mokhber, is expected to resume as interim president after Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash as the country gears up for early elections.
As interim president, Mokhber is part of a three-person council, along with the speaker of parliament and the head of the judiciary, that will organise a new presidential election within 50 days of the president’s death.
According to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei in a statement, Mokhber will be required to work with the heads of legislative and judicial branches to prepare for presidential elections.
“In accordance with Article 131 of the Constitution, Vice-President Mr. Mokhber will be the head of the Executive Branch & is obliged to cooperate with the heads of the Legislative & Judiciary Branches in facilitating the election of a new president within a maximum of 50 days,” he said.
President Raisi was travelling with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian who also died in the accident.
Rescue teams had been scouring the area since Sunday afternoon after a helicopter carrying Raisi, the foreign minister and other officials had gone missing.
Early Monday, relief workers located the missing helicopter with state TV saying the President had died.
“The servant of Iranian nation, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi has achieved the highest level of martyrdom whilst serving the people,” state television said Monday, with Mehr news agency also saying he was dead.
