TEHRAN – Iran has started registering candidates running for the upcoming parliamentary elections, set to be held on February 21, 2020.

Candidates have until December 7 to register, Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

Registration began on Sunday morning following an order by Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, Mehr reported.

The elections will be held in over 200 constituencies across the country’s 31 provinces.

The midterm elections of the Assembly of Experts will also be held on the same date in Tehran, Khorsan Razavi, North Khorasan, Fars and Qom provinces.

The Guardian Council will vet parliamentary hopefuls for their qualifications and will release the names of candidates deemed eligible to run by December 18.

Disqualified candidates will have four days to object to the Guardian Council, after which the council will study complaints and announce the final list on February 11. 

The candidates will have 8 days to spend on the campaign trail, ending on February 19, and then the elections will be held on February 21, 2020.

The Iranian parliament has 290 members who are elected by the people for four-year terms. 

Ali Larijani, the current speaker of the parliament, has announced that he will not run for the parliament.

Jamal Orf, who serves as the head of the Interior Ministry elections headquarters, said on Saturday that the elections headquarters has been trained for registration and related works.

“The entire staff, responsible for implementation of the elections, including 2,000 governors and district governors, have been trained… as our collogues went to the provinces and trained relevant staff,” he explained.  

“On Thursday we staged an online executive exercise in the Interior Ministry and contacted the entire governorships to review and resolve their problems,” Orf stated. 

MH/PA