TEHRAN: Iran began registering candidates yesterday for a June 14 presidential vote, the first in the Islamic republic since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election sparked months of violent street protests in 2009.
The Interior Ministry opened the five-day registration process at 8:00 am, according to media reports, with a string of conservative hopefuls in the running but key reformists yet to come forward.
Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammed Najjar advised hopefuls against waiting until the last minute to register, while warning against early campaigning, said the state broadcaster’s website.
The polls will be followed closely by the international community four years after the regime suppressed a wave of demonstrations that erupted when Ahmadinejad secured a second term.
Under the constitution, the outgoing president cannot stand for a third consecutive term.
His successor is expected to face an array of challenges, including Iran’s worsening economy targeted by international sanctions over the country’s contested nuclear programme.
Former nuclear negotiator and moderate figure Hassan Rowhani yesterday joined the race with a promise to “save the economy and (engage) in constructive interaction with the world,” ISNA news agency said.
Many conservative hopefuls have expressed readiness to stand for election.
Among them are heavyweights Ali Akbar Velayati — foreign minister from 1981 to 1997 and current foreign affairs adviser to Khamenei — and Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf, a former national police chief who is now mayor of Tehran.
The process of screening candidates is entrusted to the Guardians Council, an unelected body controlled by religious conservatives appointed by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all key issues.
The council is set to announce the names of those who have been cleared to stand no later than May 23. AFP
