Press TV- Irans Guardian Council has started the process of auditing the credentials ofthe nominees, who haveregistered to run in the forthcoming 12th presidential election, the bodys spokesman says.
According to the Constitution, the Guardian Council has a five-day [deadline] to examine the qualifications of the hopefuls and announce [the results], Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei said on Sunday.
He added that the central election monitoring committeehad started its work as of today, adding that the constitution allows the Guardian Council to extend the vetting process for another five days.
His comments come as the five-day registration process for the 12th presidential election ended on Saturday.
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The spokesman of Irans Guardian Council, Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei[/caption]At the end of the fifth and final day of the registration process, the head of the Interior Ministry's Election Office, Ali Asghar Ahmadi, said a total of 1,636 individuals, including 137 women, had registered to run in the upcoming presidential election.
Campaigning for the presidential election will begin two weeks before the vote.
Iran will simultaneously hold the 12th presidential election and the 5th City and Village Councils Elections on May 19.
Observers predict a high turnout in the election in which voters will pick a president for a four-year term.
Hopefuls qualifications non-negotiable: Kadkhodaei
Speaking in a television show on Saturday night, Kadkhodaei said the qualifications of the hopefuls werenot a negotiable issue and the Guardian Council would not accept any recommendations in this regard.
Headded, however,that the councilcan revise itsdecision concerninga candidate within a legal time frame based on information given to the body by reliableauthorities.
The Guardian Councils spokesman also added that the vetting results for hopefuls in every election only applyto that specific round of pollsand cannot be extrapolatedto other terms.
Earlier on Saturday, Kadkhodaei told reporters that many of the registered hopefuls would certainly be disqualified.
He added that the presidential post is a very important position and the countrys Constitution has very clearly set out the conditions for the assumption of the office.
Read more:
- Tehran mayor, first VP register for presidential election
- Irans incumbent President Rouhani submits name for presidential race
