Election Campaigns Start in Iran

Source: 
Fars News Agency
Publication date: 
May 23 2013

TEHRAN (FNA)- Campaigning for the June 14 presidential election kicked off in Iran early this morning after the Guardian Council released the list of qualified candidates.

Under Iran's Election Law, the Guardian Council, the body responsible for vetting hopefuls, is required to announce the list of approved hopefuls within five days after the end of registration. This period can be extended for another five days if necessary.

On Tuesday night, the council okayed Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and the country's Chief negotiator Saeed Jalili, former Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Hadad-Adel, Expediency Council Secretary and former IRGC top commander Mohsen Rezayee, former chief negotiator Hassan Rouhani, former Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref, former Communications Minister Mohammad Qarazi, Senior Advisor to the Supreme Leader for International Affairs Ali Akbar Velayati and Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf as qualified candidates for the June election.

The eight qualified candidates represent a wide range of political streams from Principlists to reformers.

Candidates officially started election campaigning this morning after the official announcement of the eligible candidates. Campaigning will continue up to June 13, that is 24 hours before the start of the election.

Iranian voters will go to over 66,000 polling stations inside and outside the country on June 14 to elect their next president.

Meantime, results of a recent opinion poll conducted in Iran suggested that around 70% of eligible voters will cast a vote in the country's presidential election on June 14.

The results of the survey conducted on Ordibehesht 28 (May 18) by Fars Polling Center showed that almost 70 % of eligible voters in Iran have decided to participate in the presidential election.

The survey, conducted on 164,000 people in 31 provincial capitals, 70 towns and 140 villages throughout Iran, found that 69.9% of respondents have decided to cast a vote on June 14.

13.7% said that they will not participate in the election and the remaining 16.7% said they have not made a decision yet.

According to the poll results, people in Iran's Eastern province of South Khorassan and Southeastern province of Kerman will have maximum and minimum participation, respectively.

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