Guardian Council is even-handed in screening candidates: Iran`s Jannati

TEHRAN,May 18(MNA) – The Guardian Council has adopted an even-handed approach in vetting presidential candidates, GC Secretary Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said on Friday. He made the remarks at Friday prayers at the campus of the University of Tehran in reference to the 11th presidential election, which is scheduled to be held on June 14. According to the 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. Six hundred and eighty-six hopefuls have registered for the election, and the results of the vetting process will be announced on May 21. During his sermon, Ayatollah Jannati said that in vetting the candidates, the criterion is their qualifications and not their political persuasion. He also enumerated a number of characteristics of a competent president, noting that a president must believe in the principle of velayat-e faqih (rule of the supreme jurisprudent), must uphold the law, must be pious and prudent, must have plans to resolve the country’s problems, must seek to promote justice, must lead an austere life, and must not make high-handed decisions.