Azerbaijan, Baku, May.31/ Trend F.Eminli
Iranians deserve better than the current economic and cultural situation, presidential candidate, the mayor of Tehran, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said.
He made the Remarks during his visit to the western city of Ardabil, the ISNA News Agency reported.
Addressing a crowd of supporters, the Tehran mayor said the present administration has improved living conditions to some extent, but hasn't done enough.
The principlist candidate said inflation and unemployment are major concerns affecting the whole country.
Qalibaf blamed mismanagement for the above mentioned problems and promised to fix the economy in two years if he is elected.
Based on the latest official report which was released on May 28, Iran's unemployment rate stands at 12.2 percent.
According to the International Monetary Fund, Iran's economy decreased by 1.9 percent in 2012. The value of the country's current, the rial, also decreased by 40 percent in 2012. According to the Central Bank of Iran, the country's inflation was above 30 per cent in the previous year.
Iran will hold the 11th presidential elections on June 14, 2013. The voters will choose 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 the national elections and the Guardian Council vets the candidates for qualifications.
At the elections, Qalibaf will be competing against Secretary of Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei, President of the Center for Strategic Research of the Expediency Council Hassan Rohani, lawmaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili, former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, former First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, and former Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Gharazi.