3,000 candidates approved for Iran polls

Middle East Star (IANS) Saturday 4th February, 2012

Iran's high legislative body, the Guardian Council, has approved more than 3,000 candidates for the parliament elections, Press TV reported.

Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei, spokesman of the Guardian Council, said more people would be reviewed by Feb 10, according to Xinhua.

Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar announced in December last year that 5,395 people, including 428 women, had registered their candidacy.

The parliamentary polls are slated for March 2, where the candidates will contest for the 290-seat Majlis.

The Guardian Council said people linked to the protests after the 2009 presidential elections will not be eligible to campaign for the polls.

Protests had taken place in Tehran and other cities after the elections, which were suspected to be rigged in favour of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.