‘Guardian Council will reject presidential hopefuls who can’t work long hours’

TEHRAN,May 21(MNA) -- If a presidential candidate is not able to work long hours, he should not expect that his qualifications will be approved by the Guardian Council, GC spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei announced late on Sunday. “Until this (election) cycle, the people who registered were not very old or did not have special disabilities so that we should have to express views about it… but if a person who intends to take over a top administrative post is only able to work a few hours in a day, of course he cannot be approved” by the Guardian Council, Kadkhodaei stated. According to the Iranian Constitution, the Guardian Council, a 12-member body consisting of six law experts and six religious jurists, is tasked with vetting candidates and supervising elections. Kadkhodaei emphasized that the decisions the Guardian Council makes in the process of vetting the presidential candidates are independent and not influenced by any political current. Six hundred and eighty-six hopefuls have registered for the election, and the results of the vetting process will be announced today. In an interview with the Al-Alam network, Kadkhodaei said, “The Guardian Council, as Imam Khomeini said, considers the best interests of the system and acts according to the Constitution.” “The only thing which is not taken into consideration at the council is political parties, groups, and currents or their official comments,” he added. Iran’s 11th presidential election is scheduled to be held on June 14.