A total of 592 people, mostly political unknowns, have registered for the 13th presidential election in Iran, Jamal Orf, head of the country's election campaign, said on Saturday.
Of the total candidates, 40 are women and 552 men, Orf was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying.
On Saturday, the last day of the registration process, three senior political figures announced their bid for the upcoming presidential election scheduled on June 18.
Iran's Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi as a principlist candidate, First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri as a reformist candidate and former Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani as a moderate conservative political figure officially registered for the campaign.
Iran's Ministry of Interior Affairs officially started registering candidates for the presidential race on Tuesday.
From Sunday, each candidate will be scrutinized by the Guardian Council of the Constitution (GCC), the country's highest legislative body. The GCC will assess the qualification of the applicants and release the names of qualified candidates by May 27.
It's reported that the 12 theologians and jurists on the council approved only six of more than 1,600 candidates for the last election in 2017.
The nominees will have 20 days to campaign before election day.
A presidential candidate should be an Iranian national, prudent and capable of taking on leadership duties, and believe in the Islamic republic's principles and official religion, according to the constitution.
Recently, the GCC updated the requirements for individuals planning to register as candidates. "All nominees must be between 40 and 70 years of age, hold at least a master's degree or its equivalent, have at least four years' experience in managerial posts, and have no criminal record," said Hadi Tahan Nazif, a GCC jurist member.
Meanwhile, top military commanders of major general and higher positions are also allowed to run for president.
It's said that GCC will publish a list of approved candidates on May 27.
(With input from agencies)
