Iran to start candidate registration for presidential election in May

Iran announced that it will start registration of candidates for the upcoming presidential election on May 7.Candidates for Iran's June presidential election have only one month to register their names for the presidential campaign, which will be the country's 11th since the 1979 Islamic Revolution which toppled the Pahlavi King and put an end to 25 centuries of monarchical rule over Iran.Presidential hopefuls also need the approval of the Guardians Council, made up of six senior clerics and six Islamic jurists, which vets election candidates and laws to ensure they adhere to Islamic principles.In September, the Iranian interior ministry announced that the country will hold the next presidential election on June 14, 2013.This year, Iran will hold city councils and presidential elections simultaneously.Last month, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei underlined the significance of the participation of different political groups in the June presidential election in Iran.Addressing a large congregation of Iranian people in Iran's Northeastern holy city of Mashhad, Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to Iran's 11th presidential election and called for a high turnout in the poll in a bid to disappoint the enemies and ensure national security.The Leader underscored the importance of participation of various political spectrums in the election.