Baku, Azerbaijan, May 19
By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:
Reformist lawmaker-elect Mohammad Rerza Aref has announced that he will run as a candidate for the position of the speaker of Iran's parliament.
"I will definitely run as a candidate for the position of the speaker of the 10th [new] parliament," Tasnim news agency quoted him as saying May 19.
The announcement comes as the competition between Ali Larijani, the incumbent speaker of the parliament, and Aref for securing the seat of the Iranian parliament head appears to heat up.
Iran held its 10th parliamentary election on Feb. 26 with an overall turnout of 62 percent nationwide.
Later on Apr. 29, Iran held run-off elections to fill 68 seats in the 290-seat parliament.
The outcome of the elections gave President Hassan Rouhani's allies a working majority in the Iranian parliament.
The new parliament is scheduled to begin its session on May 27.