TEHRAN – As the internal election of the Assembly of Experts approaches, political analysts are speculating about who will run for the chairmanship of the assembly.

Analysts predict that its current Chairman Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Deputy Chairman Mohammad Yazdi, Guardian Council chief Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, Ayatollah Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani, and Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi would announce their candidacy for the election.
The 86-member Assembly of Experts elects its chairman every two years. The election is usually held in March.
In March 2009, Rafsanjani was reelected as the Assembly of Experts chairman.
The Assembly of Experts is constitutionally tasked to appoint and supervise Leader.
Assembly of Experts representatives are elected to eight-year terms in a general election. The current Assembly of Experts is the fourth since the victory of the Islamic Revolution.