Iran Registers Candidates For Presidential Election

The first phase of Iran’s presidential elections got under way on Tuesday with candidates registration at the Interior Ministry in Tehran.

The four-day registration process will be followed by committee deliberations to decide which candidates fulfil the necessary requirements and ideological criteria for the May 19 election.

Report says a final list of candidates may take weeks to appear.

The approved candidates would then launch their nationwide election campaigns on May 11.

Observers expect a three-way race between reformist candidate President Hassan Rowhani, conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi, and hardliner, Hamid Baghaei.

The other candidates that have yet to be known stand only a slim chance.

Over 55 million Iranians aged 18 or older are eligible to vote in the election.