Famous Political Figures Register to Run for Iranian Presidential Election
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A number of famous Iranian political figures, including the brother of the late former president Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, on Saturday submitted their names for registration as candidates in the upcoming presidential election slated for May.
Attending a building of the Interior Ministry in Tehran, Mohammad Hashemi Rafsanjani registered to run for the 12th presidential polls due to be held on May 19.
Speaking to reporters after his registration, the candidate announced that he would stay in the race come what may.
Some other political figures, including MP Hamid Reza Hajibabaei and MP Avaz Heydarpour as well as Sadeq Khalilian, the former minister of agriculture, applied for candidacy in the forthcoming polls.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hojatoleslam Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, the chief custodian of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in the northeastern city of Mashhad, are among the main political figures that have registered to run for president.
The deadline for the registration of the applicants will end later on Saturday. After the conclusion of the process of the registration, the Guardian Council will have five days for vetting process to assess the qualification of the individuals.
The final list of the candidates will be released afterwards, and they will have 20 days for electoral campaigns, before the election day on May 19.
The number of eligible voters in the upcoming election is estimated to be around 1.5 million higher than the 50.5 million in the previous round four years ago.
