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Spokesman: Iran’s Guardian Council independent in accepting or rejecting presidential hopefuls

Iran Materials 20 May 2013 12:53 (UTC +04:00)
The spokesman of the Guardian Council of Iran Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaee says the council will act independently in accepting or rejecting any of the presidential hopefuls.
Spokesman: Iran’s Guardian Council independent in accepting or rejecting presidential hopefuls

Azerbaijan, Baku, May.20/ Trend F.Karimov/

The spokesman of the Guardian Council of Iran Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaee says the council will act independently in accepting or rejecting any of the presidential hopefuls, ISNA reported.

Referring to a petition by 100 members of the parliament for rejecting eligibility of ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and former presidential aide Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, he said everyone can express views about eligibility of candidates, but the Council will not pay attention to the public's views and will act independently.

"If a person's beliefs are not in line with principles of the Islamic Republic, he or she will be rejected by the Council," he noted.

The Guardian Council will announce the list of eligible candidates for the presidential election on Tuesday. A number of principlists have called for rejecting Rafsanjani because "he is old and is not able to run the national affairs efficiently."

Last Wednesday, 100 legislators are demanding a ban on two top independent candidates including ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani from Iran's June presidential election in what may be a further move to thwart any brewing challenge to the clerical supreme leader, Reuters reported.

Iran's Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said on May 19 that the ministry will announced the names of the presidential candidates on May 21, after it receives the final list from the Guardian Council.

Najjar also noted that during the two-day period, the ministry will hold meetings with the approved candidates to discuss their election campaigns.

The campaigning period for Iran's presidential elections will end a day before the polls open. There will be 66,000 polling stations open for the upcoming election.

Iran will hold the 11th presidential election on June 14, 2013.

The voters will select the successor of the current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is not able to participate in the elections for the third term according to the country's constitutional laws.

The president of Iran is elected for a four-year term in a national election and the Guardian Council vets the candidates for qualifications.

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