As the Guardian Council prepares its final list of approved candidates, senior Iranian lawmaker Mohammad-Hassan Aboutorabi-Fard drops his bid for presidency.Principlist Aboutorabi-Fard made the decision in response to a letter by 200 lawmakers asking him to withdraw his bid for presidency.
The legislators urged Aboutorabi-Fard to reconsider his decision and remain in Majlis in order to continue serving the nation. The hopeful then issued a statement confirming that he is no longer in the presidential race.
On Sunday, former Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast and the older brother of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Davoud, also withdrew their bids.
They all sent letters to the Guardian Council informing the body of their decisions to quit the race.
Reports say Davoud Ahmadinejad made the decision in favor of Principlist presidential hopeful Saeed Jalili, who is the secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council (SNSC).
The Guardian Council, a 12-member body, is tasked with vetting hopefuls for candidacy and confirming the election results.
Guardian Council Spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei said on Saturday that the supervisory body might approve as many as 40 presidential hopefuls for the election. Official campaigning will start two days after the council releases its final list of the approved candidates.
A total of 686 individuals registered from May 7 to 11 for the Islamic Republics 11th presidential election, which will be held on June 14.
By Press TV
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