The number of individuals that have so far signed up for preliminary candidacy for the upcoming ninth parliamentary elections has surpassed the 1,800 mark, Iran's Deputy Interior Minister Solat Mortazavi said, Press TV reported.
Mortazavi, who also heads the country's Election Headquarters, told reporters that 1,806 people have submitted their documents by the afternoon of fourth day of candidacy registration on Tuesday.
The ninth Parliamentary elections in Iran are scheduled to be held on March 2, 2012.
Registration for the parliamentary elections began with an opening ceremony attended by Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar and several other senior Iranian officials in Tehran on Saturday.
Candidates for the next elections have until December 30, 2011 to register. Officials have announced that the deadline will most probably not be extended.
The Guardian Council, which is tasked with supervising the election, will then evaluate the competence of those who have registered as preliminary candidates.
The registrars must adhere to Iran's Constitution and the principles of the Islamic establishment. They must also hold at least a master's college degree or an equivalent and be aged between 30 and 75.
The principlist bloc won a majority of seats in the 275-seat legislature in the last parliamentary elections in Iran, which were held in 2008.
Edited by: S. Isayev
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