​​​​​​​Time for reviewing the qualifications of Iranian election candidates extended

​​​​​​​Abbasali Kadkhodaei, spokesman for the Guardian Council, announced a five-day extension to the review of the qualifications of presidential candidates. He had previously said that only 40 people met the requirements.

Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, spokesman for the Guardian Council, announced on Wednesday evening, May 19, the extension of the deadline for reviewing the qualifications of presidential candidates, saying, "Given the expert reports and the accuracy of the members, the review process is still ongoing and we have not yet reached a final conclusion, and we must say that we must also use the second five days of the deadline."

A total of 592 candidates have run for the 2021 presidential election, of which 40 are women.

The Guardian Council spokesman had previously said that so far, out of about 600 registrants, 40 people met the requirements and that the review of their qualifications had begun.

Kadkhodaei also announced on Sunday, May 16, that the basis for reviewing qualifications would be the "Constitution" and "general election policies announced by the leadership," and emphasized the implementation of the resolution that was announced before the start of candidate registration.

The resolution states: "From now on, candidates for the presidential election must be between 40 and 75 years of age to register, have at least a master's degree or its equivalent, and have at least 4 years of experience in managerial positions in the country, examples of which are fully mentioned."

The Guardian Council resolution continues: "Also, ministers, governors, mayors of cities with a population of over two million, and supreme commanders of the armed forces with the rank of major general and above can be candidates. Another point is that all candidates must have no criminal record and have no criminal convictions."

On the other hand, Ahmad Jannati, Secretary of the Guardian Council, said on Monday, May 17, regarding this issue: "We cannot say anything about ourselves except the law, and the law has determined the conditions for presidential election candidates, and the conditions are onerous."

It is still unclear whether the verification of the qualifications of candidates who have registered to run in the presidential election will be carried out according to the law valid until the previous term or based on the controversial resolution of the Guardian Council, which most legal experts consider illegal.

Source: DW