Presidential Election Registration in Iran Kicks Off
TEHRAN (Press TV) – Registration of the candidates seeking to join Iran’s 13th presidential race is underway, officially beginning the process of electing the country’s chief executive.
The registration process began on Tuesday at the Interior Ministry and will last until May 15.
The names of will be handed over to the Constitutional Council, which will vet and pronounce a final ruling on competency of the hopefuls according to constitutional requirement.
In this round, the Constitutional Council has narrowed the broad qualifications that had been in place for individuals to run in presidential elections.
The Council will have until May 25 to examine the registration documents submitted by the hopefuls. It will then release a final list of presidential candidates on May 26-27.
Several candidates have already officially announced their presidential bids, while others have only signaled that they would be seeking to run.
A record number of hopefuls with military background have filed for candidacy. Under Iranian election law, men of the military previously had to resign from their posts to get the permission for joining the race, but the Council’s recent updates to the criteria for presidential candidates cleared the way for senior military officials to run.
On Monday, the Council hosted a gathering of officials in charge of holding the upcoming election, including Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazil and the teams tasked with monitoring the voting and vote counting processes.
Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, secretary of the Constitutional Council, said, "We and the Interior Ministry are cooperating well and are treading the same path toward a healthy election.”
Meanwhile, at a meeting of the Interior Ministry’s Election Committee, Rahmani Fazli also said all the necessary preparations had been made for holding the election "in a safe and healthy atmosphere filled with enthusiasm.”
Rahmani Fazli added all the security, monitoring and campaign apparatuses were in full coordination with the ministry under his watch.
The registration process began on Tuesday at the Interior Ministry and will last until May 15.
The names of will be handed over to the Constitutional Council, which will vet and pronounce a final ruling on competency of the hopefuls according to constitutional requirement.
In this round, the Constitutional Council has narrowed the broad qualifications that had been in place for individuals to run in presidential elections.
The Council will have until May 25 to examine the registration documents submitted by the hopefuls. It will then release a final list of presidential candidates on May 26-27.
Several candidates have already officially announced their presidential bids, while others have only signaled that they would be seeking to run.
A record number of hopefuls with military background have filed for candidacy. Under Iranian election law, men of the military previously had to resign from their posts to get the permission for joining the race, but the Council’s recent updates to the criteria for presidential candidates cleared the way for senior military officials to run.
On Monday, the Council hosted a gathering of officials in charge of holding the upcoming election, including Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazil and the teams tasked with monitoring the voting and vote counting processes.
Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, secretary of the Constitutional Council, said, "We and the Interior Ministry are cooperating well and are treading the same path toward a healthy election.”
Meanwhile, at a meeting of the Interior Ministry’s Election Committee, Rahmani Fazli also said all the necessary preparations had been made for holding the election "in a safe and healthy atmosphere filled with enthusiasm.”
Rahmani Fazli added all the security, monitoring and campaign apparatuses were in full coordination with the ministry under his watch.