Iran's presidential race officially opens
Source: Associated Press
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iranian authorities opened the registration process Tuesday for candidates in next month's presidential election that will pick a successor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and offer a critical test for reformists battered after years of crackdowns.
The leaders of the reform movement four years ago are now under house arrests and liberal groups have faced relentless pressures since major unrest to protest Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election in 2009. It appears unlikely that prominent pro-reform figures, such as former President Mohammad Khatami, will seek a spot on the June 14 ballot.
That leaves opposition and liberal groups the option of boycotting the election or falling behind one of the candidates cleared by the ruling clerics, who will vet all hopefuls who submit their names during the five-day registration period. Only a handful of candidates are expected to be approved when the final list is unveiled later this month by the Guardian Council, the group that supervises the election.
The slate is almost certainly to be heavily stacked with candidates considered loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been angered by challenges to his authority by Ahmadinejad and the president's allies. Among the presumed front-runners is senior Khamenei adviser Ali Akbar Velayati, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and former nuclear negotiator Hasan Rowhani, who formally registered his candidacy in the first hours as the process got underway Tuesday.
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