Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Iran's Guardians Council Approves 4 Presidential Candidates

In Iran, the country's 12-member Guardians Council has selected the 4 candidates who will run in the Presidential election next month. According to a report today from AFP, a total of 475 Iranians (including 42 women) had registered as possible candidates. The Council is made up of six clerics picked by the supreme leader and six jurists chosen by the head of the judiciary. The approved candidates are incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former head of the Revolutionary Guards Mohsen Rezai (a conservative), former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi (a moderate reformist) and ex-parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi (a reformist).