The 5th day now has turned out to show its new names, where heavy-weight figures came finally to submit their names to the Elections Headquarters operating from Interior Ministry in Tehran's Fatemi Square. The final day's rather unsurprising registration was definitely of Tehran's mayor and former IRGC general. Mr. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who said in a statement earlier this month that he was not invited by any parties to run for presidency – interpreted by many as a refrain from registration – found himself endorsed by the national forum of newly-established Popular Front of Islamic Revolutionary Forces just a day later, which provided Mr. Ghalibaf a reason for coming to the fore and run for presidency.

Ghalibaf's registration would be just to recognize the calls by Popular Front and the mayor would abandon campaign just before the Election Day in May 19 to support Mr. Raeisi as other candidates and possibly Saeid Jalili, an important name in the Principlist camp, would also follow the suit, to invest heavily in Raeisi, the Custodian of Astan Quds, in the battle with President Rouhani.

Notable among the other registrations is by Rouhani's first VP, Mr. Ishaq Jahangiri. His movement in the last day would puzzle the public of supporters of the government, since Reformist-Moderates would finally coalesce on Rouhani as their single nomination for the elections. Mr. Jahangiri would choose to do what Mr. Mohammad Reza Aref had done back in 2013 Presidential Elections on the demand and recommendation of late Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami.

Mohammad Hashemi, a former IRIB head and brother of late Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, was also another prominent candidate nominating for the presidential race. He asserted that he is running independently and would not step aside in favor of anyone.

Mohsen Rohami is a cleric and a major figure of the Association of Combatant Clerics, which is a reformist clerical party and in 1980 acted as a left wing of the Islamic Republic of Iran's political system. He told reporters that he would not be considered as a secondary nomination to Rouhani's wider sweep among the Reformists, but would act as independent in the campaign.

From among the names endorsed by the Popular Front, former Tehran MP Mehrdad Bazrpash also appeared in Interior Ministry, but told reporters he had refrained from running for presidency. He officially announced this late Saturday when the registration was being closed. Mr. Bazrpash added that he would himself support any final candidate of the general camp of the Principlists and from among those endorsed by the Popular Front.

The final exhaustive list shows a rise in the number of registered individuals in Presidential Elections. This number had more than doubled compared to that in 2013 Presidential Elections of June. 1636 people submitted their names to the Headquarters. Only a handful would be qualified by the Guardian Council as the final candidates to launch their campaign after April 27.

SH/3952682</s>Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Mayor of Tehran, shows his ink-stained finger after registering his candidacy for the upcoming presidential elections at the ministry of interior in the capital Tehran on April 14, 2017 (AFP Photo/STR)

Tehran (AFP) - Registration for next month's Iranian presidential election closed on Saturday, with more than 1,600 hopefuls signing up, including a last-minute entry by Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

The 55-year-old conservative mayor had given mixed signals about whether he would make a third bid for the presidency, but showed up at the interior ministry just before the deadline for registration.

There was also a surprise last-minute entry from first vice-president Eshaq Jahangiri, a close confidante of President Hassan Rouhani who registered on Friday.

It is assumed Jahangiri, a 60-year-old reformist, is running to offer an alternative in case Rouhani is disqualified by the Guardian Council, which vets the candidates. Others speculate he could be trying to raise his profile ahead of a more concerted bid in 2021.

Rouhani, a politically moderate cleric who has stabilised the economy and overseen a partial rapprochement with the West, is widely seen as the man to beat, although there is little polling in Iran and past elections have thrown up major surprises.

His main challenger is considered to be hardline cleric and judge Ebrahim Raisi, 56, who also signed up on Friday.

Almost all will be disqualified over the coming fortnight by the Guardian Council, which is controlled by religious conservatives.

The council has never permitted a woman to run.

Around half a dozen candidates are normally approved, with the campaign set to start on April 28 and the vote on May 19.

Ghalibaf was the runner-up to Rouhani in 2013. He is a war veteran, former Revolutionary Guards commander and police chief, who was picked by a grouping of conservatives as one of their top choices last week, along with Raisi.

With much of the focus this year on Iran's stagnant economy, he told reporters at the registration that he would create five million jobs and more than double Iran's revenues.

The biggest surprise from this week's registration was the appearance of former hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 60, who shocked everyone by signing up against the advice of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.</s>Tehran: More than 1,600 candidates have registered to run for Iranian presidency as the registration for May 19 presidential election closed on Saturday.

Tehran's Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and first Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri also registered on Saturday for the election.

Addressing reporters after his registration, the principlist Qalibaf challenged as "unrealistic" the incumbent President Hassan Rouhani's remarks about his administration's acceptable economic performance over the past four years, Xinhua news agency cited Press TV.

Jahangiri said unity is needed to overcome challenges, citing unemployment as among the country's main problems.

The most high-profile candidates running for the top post are President Hassan Rouhani, former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi.

The Iranian Guardian Council of Constitution, a clerical body that oversees elections, will start to assess the qualification of the applicants from Sunday and will announce an approved list by April 27.

A candidate should basically be an Iranian national, prudent and capable of taking on leadership duties, and should a believer and committed to the Islamic Republic of Iran's fundamentals and also official religion of the country.

According to Iran's Interior Ministry, the approved candidates will launch their presidential campaign on April 28.</s>Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s moderate president who is seeking re-election, faces a boisterous race after heavyweight conservative figures critical of his landmark nuclear agreement with the west put themselves up to challenge him.

Registration for candidates in Iran’s presidential elections next month ended on Saturday, with a record number of 1,636 people putting their names on the list, including 137 women. On Friday, Rouhani took his ID card, a few passport-sized photos and other paperwork to the interior ministry in Tehran’s Fatemi Street to register to run for a second term. His four predecessors have all served two conservative terms.

Ebrahim Raisi, a close ally of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose bid for presidency has upended the race, also registered on Friday. The former hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Tehran’s mayor, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, are among a handful of other serious candidates running.

The list of presidential hopefuls has been sent to the guardian council, a powerful body of jurists and clerics, which began a five-day vetting process on Sunday. A limited number of candidates are usually allowed through. Critics say the council has arbitrarily blocked many high-profile politicians in recent years, going beyond its constitutional responsibilities.

This year, all eyes are on the council to see if it will approve Ahmadinejad, who registered despite advice by Khamenei not to. The campaign period starts on 28 April and ends one day before the vote, which is scheduled for 19 May.

Ali Ansari, a professor of Iranian history at the University of St Andrews, said Raisi’s surprising decision to run has been “the fly in the ointment” in what could have been a relatively straightforward, albeit challenging, race for Rouhani to win a second term. Raisi’s rise to prominence over the past year has intrigued many commentators who speculate that he is being touted as a frontrunner to succeed Khamenei, a higher position than that of the president.

“I think definitely it has complicated the race,” Ansari said. “I think the fact that Raisi is coming, unless he steps aside, it looks very unlikely to me that the nezam [ruling system] would allow Raisi to be humiliated in an election. He hasn’t come to lose. He is an up-and-coming player in the system and in the last six months he’s basically come from nowhere.”

There are also concerns about Rouhani’s possible disqualification. That explains why his first deputy, Eshaq Jahangiri, a figure close to the reformists, also registered to run on Saturday. “I’m here to supplement Rouhani,” he said, meaning that his bid for the presidency was tactical and that he would drop out if Rouhani is allowed to run.

“Rouhani is not in as strong a position as we think he is, because he delivered the JCPOA [nuclear deal]. JCPOA in Iran is not seen as a giant triumph, and for me the problem for me is the way Rouhani sold it,” Ansari said. 



“He has stablised the economy, but I think he made a number of very exaggerated claims, and he is now paying the price in the popular mood. But in an open election I think people would vote for Rouhani . Rouhani is the best of a bad choice, but at the same time I don’t think he’s as clear a winner as some people in the west would like to think.”

Although women have registered, all female nominees have previously been blocked from running. Azam Talaghani, a former MP and the daughter of a prominent revolutionary ayatollah, is among the women who have put their names on the list to test whether the authorities would allow women to run.</s>More than 1,600 candidates have filed to run in the Iranian presidential election as the official registration period ended on April 15. Among the last-minute entrants for the May 19 election was 55-year-old Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who arrived at the Interior Ministry just before the deadline. First Vice President Eshagh Jahangiri, 60, also was a late entrant.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Weekday Magazine.</s>The News is giving people the chance to submit questions directly to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough authority mayoral candidates.

Whoever is elected in May will have tremendous influence over planning and transport issues in the area, and will oversee the spending of an £800 million pot of devolved funding.

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Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf and First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri submit their candidacies as registration closes. The final list of approved candidates will be announced on April 27.