Ahead of June 18 presidential election in Iran, the nation’s Interior Ministry has disclosed that it has registered no fewer than 592 candidates, including male and female vying for the oval office in the country.
It explained that out of a total of 592 candidates, 40 are women and 552 are men and that all candidates would be examined and confirmed by the powerful Guardian Council.
The ministry said that names of the presidential candidates would be published by the end of the month after thorough screening by the guardian council, the country’s highest decision making organ.
The list of the leading candidates includes almost 30 names, including Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri, hardline head of the judiciary Ebrahim Raisi, and former parliament speaker and nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani.
Ex-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the reformer and former women’s representative in the presidential office, Sahra Shodzhaei, and Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani, the son of a former president, have also thrown their hats into the ring.
Meanwhile, sitting President, Hassan Rowhani, is not allowed to run again after two terms in office.
