Senior Iranian cleric, Hassan Rohani, says political parties need to be strengthened in the country.Making important decisions will encounter serious problems if parties are not empowered and do not find their [rightful] place, Rohani, who heads the Expediency Council's Center for Strategic Research, said on Sunday.
In the world, parties play both decision-making and monitoring roles and also have the primary role in general elections. In our country, the political structure is not based on the party system, he added.
Parties are not only for election periods. Their [main] function should be training competent political and social forces, added the cleric.
Parties can play a valuable role in the society, stated Rohani, who also represents Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in the Supreme National Security Council.
Rohani, a former chief nuclear negotiator, said influential parties would contribute to upgrading the quality of general elections.
The Islamic Republics eleventh presidential election will be held on June 14. Presidential hopefuls can register from May 7 to 11.
The president of Iran is elected for a four-year term and candidates for the presidency must be vetted for qualifications by the Guardian Council.
So far, the secretary of the Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei, former intelligence minister, Ali Fallahian, and former foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, have declared their intention to run for president.
By Press TV
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