Tehran Mayor Registers as Presidential Candidate
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Mayor of Tehran Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf applied for candidacy for the post of Iranian president on Saturday.
Qalibaf, a retired general of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and a former police commander, registered at Iran’s Interior Ministry in Tehran on Saturday evening to run for president.
The mayor of Tehran had entered presidential race twice before, in 2005 and in 2013.
Known as a major character of the ‘principalist’ political faction, Qalibaf has won acclaim by his supporters for his record as the mayor of Tehran, Iran’s largest city with a population of around 10 million.
He decided to enter the race for the May election in the final hours of the registration process, which had begun five days ago.
As of tomorrow, 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 vote is estimated to be around 1.5 million higher than the 50.5 million in the previous election four years ago.