Region | Iran
Iran vetting body approves 4,500 candidates for March elections
An Iranian vetting body said on Saturday it had approved more than 4,500 candidates so far for the March 14 election out of almost 7,600 who had registered.
- Reuters
- Published: 22:23 February 23, 2008
Tehran: An Iranian vetting body said on Saturday it had approved more than 4,500 candidates so far for the March 14 election out of almost 7,600 who had registered.
The vote for the 290-seat parliament is regarded as a popularity test for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and could indicate his chances of re-election in 2009.
Ahmadinejad's backers dominate parliament which does not draw up policy on major issues such as Iran's nuclear row with the West. Those policies are decided by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Pro-reform opponents of the president, who back social and political change, say many of their main candidates have been barred by the hardline Guardian Council.
"From the 7,597 candidates who registered for the parliamentary election more than 4,500 candidates ... have been approved," Guardian Council spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodai said, the official Irna news agency reported.
He said 2,200 were disqualified. Others had either pulled out or had not objected to being barred in an initial filtering round so the council had not reviewed their cases.
"Those whose qualifications were not approved have ... until the end of Monday to raise an objection," he said, according to Isna news agency, which carried the same figures.
The latest figures differed from previously published numbers. About 7,200 people were earlier reported to have signed up, with 2,200 barred at first. The Guardian Council had since said more than 1,000 were reinstated.
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