Iran's constitutional watchdog, the Guardian Council, has ruled out women's candidacy in the June 14 presidential election.
The semi-official Mehr news agency quoted Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, a clerical member of the unelected and unaccountable Guardian Council, as saying on Thursday that the Islamic country's Constitution does not allow a woman on the ballot and in the presidency.
That seals the fate of about 30 women, who have registered to run for the presidency.
The Guardian Council is the body tasked with vetting Iran's presidential and parliamentary contenders.
The Iranian Constitution stipulates that presidential candidates must be religious or political figures, be Iranian in origin, be resourceful and have managerial skills, have no criminal record, be trustworthy and pious, and have firm belief in the fundamental principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the country's official religion.
After the vetting process is complete, the 12-member supervisory body will release the final list of candidates to the Interior Ministry, which will then publicize the roster.
Council spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei said on Thursday that the final list of candidates would be announced by May 21.
State-run Press TV quoted Ayatollah Mohammad Mo'men, a member of the Council, as saying that it may approve more than ten candidates from among a long list of 686 people who have registered to contest the presidential election.
The country's law is liberal as far as women's right to stand for election to the parliament is concerned, where many of them were elected as lawmakers.
Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who has the support of pro-reform groups, and rivals such as Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, and principlists Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel and Alireza Zakani are seen as the potential candidates.
Incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cannot run for a third term under the Constitution, but his nominee, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, has filed nomination papers.
The chances are that the Guardian Council will cut his name from the shortlist, because Ahmadinejad has fallen out of the good books of the ruling theocracy over his challenges to the authority of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Al Jazeera reports.
The United States had alleged earlier this week that "behind closed doors, Iran's unelected and unaccountable Guardian Council is vetting Iranian presidential contenders, using vague criteria to eliminate potential candidates."
In a testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman said the State Department was watching Iran's presidential election closely, and added that "without a transparent process, it is difficult for us to say whether Iran's elections will be free, fair, or represent the will of the Iranian people."
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