TEHRAN — Sunday marked the last day disqualified parliamentary candidates could object to their ineligibility.

Parliamentary hopefuls had until December 7 to register. On December 18, candidates were informed of whether they were deemed eligible to run for parliament.

Disqualified candidates had four days to object. It ended on December 22. 

The Interior Ministry announced on December 18 that 91 percent of those registering have been confirmed as eligible.

The next parliamentary elections will be held on February 21.

To be able to run for parliament, the candidates must be finally confirmed by the Guardian Council.

The candidates will have 8 days to spend on the campaign trail, ending on February 19.

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

The parliamentary 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, Khorasan Razavi, North Khorasan, Fars and Qom provinces.

Guardian Council spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodaei said on Saturday that the council would not dismiss as ineligible the candidates who have criticized the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“We have a free country and merely criticizing an individual or body would not lead to disqualification,” Kadkhodaei told a press conference.

However, he added, insult, defamation and inflammatory remarks, which are clearly different from criticism, will be probed into when vetting candidates.

Earlier this month, Kadkhodaei said that the council is the only body responsible to supervise the elections.

“Sometimes questions arise over whether we are the only supervisor of the elections or not,” Kadkhodaei said, adding, “I emphasize that the Guardian Council is the only supervisor of the elections.”

He said the Judiciary is tasked with investigating offenses and the Interior Ministry has an executive responsibility.

“This separation of supervision and execution is very important,” the spokesman remarked. “We should be able to implement our legal responsibilities properly.”

MH/PA