RNA - Iran's election headquarters, in an official statement released on Thursday, declared the names of 6 candidates that have been qualified to run in the upcoming election.
The list includes incumbent President Hassan Rouhani, First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, custodian of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (PBUH) in the city of Mashhad Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi, former minister Seyed Mostafa Agha Mir-Saleem, and former Vice-President Seyed Mostafa Hashemi Taba.
Three of the candidates, including Rouhani, Jahangiri and Hashemi Taba are from the reformist camp, while the other three, namely Rayeesi, Qalibaf and Mir-Saleem are from the Principlist stream.
Here are some more details about the background and careers of each candidate:
Rouhani: Born on 12 November 1948. President since 2013, member of the Expediency Council since 1991 and the Assembly of Experts - the vetting body that elects the country’s leader - since 1999; also a former vice-speaker of the Iranian parliament, and secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council from 1989 to 2005.
Jahangiri: Born on 21 January 1958. First vice-president since 2013, minister of mines and metals under Khatami's presidency from 1997 to 2005, former governor of Isfahan and a former MP.
Qalibaf: Born on 23 August 1961. Mayor of Tehran, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ Air Force from 1997 to 2000, commander of the Law Enforcement Police Forces from 2000 to 2005 and a former commander of the IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbia Base.
Rayeesi: Born on 14 December 1960. Chief custodian of Astan Quds Razavi, the organization managing the affairs of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (PBUH) - the eighth Shiite Imam - in the city of Mashhad, member of the Assembly of Experts from South Khorassan Province since 2006 and former attorney general of Iran’s Administrative Court of Justice from 2014 to 2016.
Agha Mir-Saleem: Born on 9 June 1947. Member of the Expediency Council. He was a senior aide to Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei during his presidency, former minister of culture and Islamic guidance in 1994 and former caretaker of the Presidential Office.
Hashemi Taba: Born in 1946. Vice-president under former Presidents Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami, former minister of industries and former head of the Sports Organization.
Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his close aide and former vice-president and head of the Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) Hamid Baqayee have both been disqualified from running the race.
The qualified candidates are permitted to campaign for election until 8 am May 18, the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The Guardian Council gave the final list of qualified candidates to the Interior Ministry on Thursday afternoon. The five-day registration process for the presidential election ended last Saturday and the Guardian Council started vetting presidential election hopefuls the following day.
The vetting body examined the qualifications of more than 1,600 candidates who had signed up to run in the election on May 19.
"We held the final session on examining the qualifications of the presidential election nominees today and fortunately reached a conclusion after five days of numerous sessions,” GC Spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei said on Thursday.
Meantime, Iran's interior ministry said Thursday there would be no live debates in the run-up to the next month's presidential election.
"Based on a decision by the Election Campaign Monitoring Commission, the election debates of the candidates will be broadcast pre-recorded," Interior Ministry Spokesman Seyed Salman Samani said.
The election commission also issued guidelines for the debates, telling candidates they are not allowed to "blacken the image of the country... or the actions of the executive, administrative, legislative or judicial bodies".
Live debates have been a hugely popular feature of the last two elections in 2009 and 2013. Almost all candidates have slammed the decision, urging the commission to allow live TV debates for the sake of maximum transparency.
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 the next president for a four-year term.
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