The first of Iran's presidential hopefuls put their names forward yesterday to stand in the June 17 battle to succeed incumbent reformist Mohammad Khatami, with suspense still surrounding the intentions of top cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
The interior ministry said several unknown figures were quick to submit their candidacies -- which will be subject to a tough screening process -- after registration opened at 8:00am.
According to the ministry, no key personalities had yet come forward in the first few hours of the registration process.
Powerful former president Rafsanjani -- seen as a pragmatic conservative more open to improving ties with the West and determined to liberalize the economy -- has signalled he is all but certain to stand but has yet to formally confirm a comeback bid.
A number of informal opinion polls have placed him ahead of what is expected to be a field of mostly hardline contenders.
The registration process ends on Friday evening, leaving Rafsanjani plenty of time to judge the competition.
The future president will face the twin challenges of resolving a mounting stand-off with the international community over Iran's nuclear ambitions, as well as satisfying domestic demands to lower inflation and create more jobs.
After registering, would-be candidates will go through a tough screening process overseen by the Guardians Council -- an unelected and hardline-controlled body that has the power to decide whose names can go on the ballot sheet.
The council has at least five days to approve or reject candidates, who must be "a religious of political personality, of Iranian origin, have Iranian nationality, be a sensible manager, have an irreproachable past, be virtuous and honest, be a believer and loyal to the values of the Islamic republic and of the official religion," the Shiite branch of Islam.
Ahead of Iran's parliamentary elections last year, the Guardians Council rejected 2,000 candidates, almost all of them reformists. Prior to the last presidential election in 2001, the council accepted just 10 names out of 814 people who registered to stand.
Women are automatically barred from standing on the grounds of their sex.
The final result will depend largely on the 70-year-old Rafsanjani, who has already served two terms as president, from 1989 to 1997 and, unlike Khatami, can stand again after the break.
The campaign itself has been largely uneventful and directionless pending Rafsanjani's decision, although there has been some confusion in the right-wing camp.
Four or five prominent hardliners could stand, including two advisors to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei -- former state broadcasting boss Ali Larijani and former foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati.
Political newcomer and populist former national police chief Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has also announced his candidacy.
Fighting for the beleaguered reformist camp are moderate cleric Mehdi Karoubi, a former parliament speaker, and Mostapha Moin, supported by the main reformist party.
They are counting on the last minute mobilization of those who elected Khatami in 1997, but risk a backlash from women, students and the young -- many of whom are disappointed with the slow pace of reforms and Khatami's failure to overcome hardline opposition.
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