Iran preparing final list of presidential candidates
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.
