Parliament speaker. The Tehran mayor. A heart surgeon. The race is on for Iran's next president

abcnews.go.com:

Six candidates have been approved by Iran’s theocracy to run in Friday’s presidential election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash with several other officials in May

Six candidates have been approved by Iran's theocracy to run in Friday’s presidential election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash with several other officials in May.

Among them, Iran’s parliament speaker stands out as the most recognizable figure. A little-known politician and heart surgeon is also on the ballot. He is the only reformist while the others are more skewed toward hard-liners who back Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei without question and challenge the West.

And if previous elections are a guide to Iranian politics, several candidates could drop out in the final days before the vote to coalesce around a unity candidate.

Meanwhile, authorities are not urging the public to vote as vocally as they have in the past, particularly after a parliamentary election earlier in the year that saw the lowest turnout since the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Here's a look at the candidates:

Ghazizadeh Hashemi, 53, served as one of Raisi’s vice presidents and as the head of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs. He ran in the 2021 presidential election and received just under 1 million votes, coming in last place. In debates so far, he's urged the country to continue to follow the policies of Raisi and insisted that Iran does not need foreign investment to succeed, despite the widespread economic challenges the nation now faces.

The 58-year-old Jaili is a hard-line politician and former senior nuclear negotiator. He ran in Iran's 2013 presidential election