Iran preparing final list of presidential candidates

Noura Bendari

Iran’s elections commission has approved 40 candidates for the country’s presidential elections.

The commission also rejected the applications of hundreds of other hopefuls.

A total of 529 people applied to run in the elections which are scheduled for June 18. The applicants included a large number of the commanders of the Revolutionary Guard Corpse.

Candidates of the mullahs

The elections commission received applications from presidential hopefuls over five days. Candidacy terms introduced by the commission have contributed to the disqualification of a large number of the presidential hopefuls.

The commission said only 40 candidates managed to meet the minimum requirements for candidacy. The commission added that more candidates can be disqualified in the coming period in the buildup for declaring the final list of presidential candidates.

Economy-related questions

Most of the candidates approved so far have failed in outlining their program for addressing Iran’s economic problems, Iranian economists said.

They called on the candidates to clarify their economic platform.

The same economists raised 18 questions about the future of the Iranian economy. They cover issues, such as inflation, the price of energy, women’s participation in economic activities and economic security.

Iran’s next president

Iranian affairs specialist Osama al-Hatimi ruled out the possibility of victory by one of the candidates of the Revolutionary Guard Corpse.

The Iranian supreme guide does not want a candidate of the Revolutionary Guard to win the elections, al-Hatimi told The Reference.

He noted that an election victory by one of the candidates of the Revolutionary Guard would pose threats to the authority of the supreme guide.