Number of candidates to register for elections in Iran surpasses 240
By Sara Rajabova
The number of presidential candidates to register for the upcoming election in Iran has surpassed 240 as the May 11 registration deadline nears, Press TV reported.
On the 3rd day of the registration for Iran's 11th presidential election, 99 people were registered at the election headquarters.
On Thursday, One of the Triple Alliance coalition members, former speaker of the Iranian parliament, Gulamali Haddad Adil, submitted his registration for Iran's presidential elections, Mehr news agency reported.
Haddad-Adel is a member of the Triple Alliance (2+1) coalition, along with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (former commander of the Iranian police and current Mayor of Tehran), and Ali Akbar Velayati (Supreme Leader's Advisor for International Affairs).
Several months ago, when the coalition was established, the members announced that they will support one candidate at the upcoming presidential elections.
On May 9, according to Iranian media, both Haddad-Adel and Velayati made statements noting that the coalition members will wait until the decision of the Guardian Council, and then depending on the results, will select one candidate and support him all the way.
Also, on Thursday, former Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahian and former Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Gharazi signed up at the Interior Ministry.
Fallahian, currently sitting in the Assembly of Experts, is running on an independent ticket. He has ruled out the possibility of dropping out in favor any other candidate.
Gharazi said curbing the inflation rate will top his priorities, noting that high inflation rate is the most important problem the country is facing.
Around two dozen political figures from across the political spectrum, most of them conservatives, have so far voiced their intentions to run for president.
Among the famous political figures who signed up on the first day were Hassan Rohani, the former secretary of Iran's supreme national security council, Kamran Baqeri-Lankarani, a former health minister, Iranian lawmaker Mostafa Kavakebian and Mohammad Saeedi-Kia, a former minister of housing and urban development.
The president of Iran is elected for a four-year term in a national election and hopefuls must be vetted for qualifications by the Guardian Council, the country's top electoral supervisory body.
The next president will replace incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The registration of candidates officially began on May 7 and will end on May 11.
From May 12-16, Iran's Guardian Council will review each candidate, and determine whether a candidate is eligible for participating.
If a candidate, for some reason is not eligible for participating in the elections according to the Guardian Council, that candidate will have time to protest the decision from May 17-21.
Iran's Interior Ministry will unveil the names of candidates which are competitive enough to participate in the elections on May 22-23.
After the candidates have been determined, the pre-election campaigns would begin on May 24, and end on June 12.