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Rouhani’s main rival registers to run in Iranian presidential election

Iranian conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi has registered to run in the presidential election due on May 19

TEHRAN, April 14. /TASS/. Iranian conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi representing the Popular Front of Islamic Revolution Forces (JAMNA) has registered to run in the presidential election due on May 19, the ISNA news agency reports.

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Iran’s President Rouhani runs for second term

Raisi, a former Tehran deputy prosecutor, is Chairman of the Astan Quds Razavi charitable foundation and a close ally of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He is also popular with the country’s security agencies, particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. According to the Iranian media, Raisi may become the main rival of the incumbent president Hassan Rouhani.

Earlier on Friday, the Fars news agency reported that Rouhani had registered to run for re-election.

The five-day registration for the presidential election opened on April 11. After the procedure is completed, the Supervisory Council will form the final candidates list. Previous experience shows that the council members reject most of the candidates leaving the most dignified ones, so the final number of presidential candidates is unlikely to exceed ten.

According to the Iranian election law, a presidential candidate should be an Iranian-born citizen, a respected religious figure and politician, as well as a competent and righteous supporter of the principles of the Islamic revolution and the official religion, besides, the candidate should also have a good reputation. Based on these requirements, more than 800 people, including former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have registered to run in the election.

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