TEHRAN
The Guardian Council of the Constitution in Iran may consider disqualifying centrist presidential candidate Hassan Rowhani only days before Friday's election, said MP Mansour Haqiqatpour, head of a parliamentary committee on national security.
"In the case that Dr. Hassan Rowhani commits actions in violation of his presidential candidate status, the Council is authorized to review his qualification," Haqiqatpour said.
Rowhani, a former chief nuclear negotiator who had the backing of both the conservative and reformist voters, is among 8 candidates vying for presidency in its eleventh term in the Islamic republic. His remarks on national security and nuclear negotiations in a televised presidential debate on Friday drew criticism as they were regarded as a disclosure of classified information.
As the election draws nearer, a coalition formed weeks ago by conservative voters Ali Akbar Velayati, Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf shows signs of discord.
Since the coalition was created to prevent conservative votes from being widely dispersed, two of the three candidates were expected to withdraw from the race to ensure the election of a strong conservative figure. But recent statements by Velayati and Haddad-Adel saying they would not quit for any other candidate have opened the door for different election scenarios.
Centrist Rowhani and the only reformist candidate Mohammad Reza Aref are considered to have little chance of winning unless they, too, form a coalition and receive the backing of former reformist presidents Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani or Muhammad Khatami.
- Second round likely
According to Iran's electoral laws, candidates must get 50+1% of the votes to become president. If no candidate receives that many votes, a second round is held.
Given the high number of candidates and each of them having their own voter bases except Haddad-Adel and Muhammad Garazi, no candidate is expected to reach 50%, resulting in a likely second round.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
