TEHRAN —The Tehran city council elected Pirouz Hanachi as the city’s new mayor, Mehr news agency reported.

Hanachi, 55, holds a PhD in urban development, and run for mayor post last year as well.

He has served as the deputy for architecture and urban development at the Ministry of Transport and Urban Development from 2001 to 2005. 

Hanachi replaced Mohammad Ali Afshani, who was retired and had to give up office as per a newly adopted law which bans employment of the retired. 

The law was passed in mid-September by the Majlis [Iranian parliament] and it will be implemented by November 15.

The fifth city council election was held simultaneously with the presidential election on May 19, 2017. Reformists managed to secure all 21 seats at the council. The first session of the fifth Tehran City Council was held on August 23, 2017.

Since then the council had to elect two mayors. First Mohammad Ali Najafi was named as the mayor who kept the post for almost 7 months and then resigned due to his deteriorating health caused by prostate cancer. 

After Najafi, Samiollah Hosseini Makarem became the caretaker and finally a month later in mid-May Afshani secured the seat as the mayor.

MQ/MG