September 3, 2021
The Tehran City Council has elected Majlis Deputy Alireza Zakani as the new mayor of the capital city, replacing the Reformist mayor with a Principleist now that the Principleists have taken command of the council as a result of the June elections.
Zakani was elected August 4 in a vote held among six nominees.
Zakani has been serving as a member of the Majlis representing Qom since early 2020. He has also led the Majlis research center for nearly a year.
A veteran of the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, Zakani is known for his long years as head of the Student Basij Organization, an entity tasked with guarding the Islamic Revolution’s values in universities and cultural institutions in Iran.
The rightist politician was born and reared in Tehran and has represented that city in the Majlis on four occasions.
Zakani was one of six nominees contending the June presidential election. He withdrew from the race just a day before the final vote to help Ebrahim Raisi gain a sweeping victory.
Zakani’s main rivals in the mayoral race were said to be former police chief Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam and Habib Darvish, a former CEO of the Tehran Metro. Iran International said both new City Council Chair Mehdi Chamran and Council Member Narjes Soleymani, daughter of the later Gen. Qassem Soleymani, voted against Zakani on grounds that he wasn’t revolutionary enough.
Zakani replaces Pirouz Hanachi, an experienced civil servant with links to the leftist politicians in Iran. Hanachi had assumed the post in November 2018.
The mayoral election came hours after members of the Islamic City Council picked Chamran as their new chairman. He had been chair four years ago when the Principleists last held the majority on the council.
The council has 21 members. For the last four years, all were Reformists. As a result of the June elections, all 21 are now Principleists, as the conservatives prefer to be called.