Azernews.Az

By Kamila Aliyeva

Former Minister of Industry Mostafa Hashemitaba and former Oil Minister Seyed Mohammad Kharazi registered their candidacies for the presidential elections in Iran on April 13.

"My first priority is to protect Iran and its agriculture," Hashemitaba said.

Hashemitaba is also the former head of the National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Iran, IRNA reported.

Kharazi told journalists that the fight against unemployment is his slogan in the forthcoming elections. Kharazi who also served as Minister for Posts and Telegraph participated in the presidential race in 2013, in which current President Hasan Rouhani won.

Earlier, ex-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ebrahim Raeesi, the chief custodian of Astan Quds Razavi, have registered their candidacies.

Ahmadinejad previously served two four-year terms from 2005 to 2013. Under Iranian law, he became eligible to run again after four years out of office, but he remains a polarizing figure, even among fellow hard-liners.

Two of his former vice presidents have been jailed for corruption since he left office. Iran's economy suffered under heavy international sanctions during his administration because of Western suspicions that Tehran was secretly pursuing nuclear weapons.

The two main rivals in the race are widely expected to be President Hassan Rouhani, and Ebrahim Raeesi.

President Rouhani has not officially announced his will to run for a second term. But, he is widely expected to do so, and the reformist camp in Iran has already picked him as its chosen candidate.

The registration process began on April 11 and will continue for five days.

The candidates are expected to be political and religious personages, who fulfill the fourfold criteria of being of Iranian origin, being a national of the Islamic Republic, being prudent and capable of taking on leadership duties, and being religious and believing in the Islamic Republic’s principles and its official religion.

All hopefuls will be vetted by the Guardian Council, a body that oversees elections and legislation, from April 16 to April 20.

The body may extend the vetting period for five days, April 21-25, looking into candidates’ grievances.

On April 26-27, the Interior Ministry will formally announce a final shortlist of candidates approved by the Guardian Council.

On April 28, candidates start campaigning until 24 hours before May 19, the voting date for the 12th presidential and 5th city and council elections.