57 Apply for Iran Presidential Candidacy on 1st Day of Registration
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Fifty-seven applicants have registered for contest in the upcoming presidential race in Iran only on the fist day of the registration Tuesday, officials said.
As the registration of applicants seeking to run for president started officially at the Ministry of Interior in Tehran on Tuesday morning, 57 people, including a number of famous figures, submitted their documents on the first day.
The well-known personalities that applied for candidacy on Tuesday included ex-defense minister Hossein Dehqan, former commander of Khatam al-Anbia Construction Base Saeed Mohammad, and Mohammad Hassan Nami, a one-time minister of communications.
Presidential hopefuls are required to meet the new criteria set by the Constitutional Council.
The vetting body has established new criteria for the 13th presidential election in Iran in order to separate out large numbers of people who nominate with very basic or no qualifications for every election.
Moreover, the age limit for running for president has been raised to 40, while the upper age limit for the hopefuls has been set at 75.
The nominates should also have an experience of serving for at least a combined total of four years in a series of political, administrative, military, or academic posts, such as the deputies of heads of three branches of power, members of the Supreme National Security Council, members of the Expediency Discernment Council, directors of the governmental organizations, top commanders of the Armed Forces with the rank of Major General and above, provincial governors, and mayors of populous cities.
The registration of volunteers will go on for five days. The Council will have until May 25 to examine the documents submitted by the hopefuls. It can extend the date by another five days if needed. The overseeing body will then release a final list of presidential candidates on May 26-27.
Slated for June 18, the presidential election in Iran will be held simultaneously with council and midterm parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections.
Director of the Elections Headquarters has said more than 59,310,000 Iranians are eligible to vote this year.
