In all recent presidential elections in Iran, Reformist candidates have managed to win the majority of votes in Kurdish regions. In June, Hassan Rouhani received 71% of the votes in Kurdistan. In his campaign, Rouhani had promised to appoint locals to local administrative positions in different regions of the country. He had also said that he will "work on removing the stain of discrimination and inequality from the face of the religious and ethnic minorities in Iran."
After the new administration took office, many were hoping to see Rouhani nominate a Sunni Kurd as one of his cabinet members. There were discussions regarding the possibility of Bijan Zolfaghar Nasab, a famous soccer coach, becoming the new minister of youth affairs and sports; however, this did not happen.
