Iranian presidential candidate Mohammad Gharazi says he will form an anti-inflationary administration to improve the countryâ„¢s economy if he wins the June 14 vote.
Speaking in a Question and Answer program broadcast on Iranâ„¢s satellite Jaam-e Jam television network on Saturday evening, Gharazi said the country has been suffering from rising unemployment and declining domestic production.
Å“Over the past 100 years, every administration that has taken office in Iran has managed the country while facing inflation. Managing a country that faces inflation has many hardships; there is youth unemployment; production isn’t possible,” he stated.
The former oil minister stressed that job creation can turn the tide of runaway inflation in Iran.
Å“My method of managing the country, based on past experience, is to create jobs, [and] adopt measures to cease the [growth of] inflation and to – God Willing, and with the [active] presence of the nation – turn it negative,” Gharazi commented.
The presidential candidate also stated that the Iranian economy has been hit hard by the devaluation of the national currency.
Gharazi blamed the incumbent administration for the current state of the economy, adding the nation has been grappling with a decline in purchasing power in recent years.
Å“It is impossible to increase resistance when the peopleâ„¢s lives are under the impact of daily prices.
Å“The [local] currency must be valuable for the lady who goes shopping for the family; the currency must not fluctuate overnight so that she can manage her children and her husband and her family,” he said.
Gharazi also criticized rising imports in Iran at the expense of domestic production.
Å“They run contrary to the [national] sovereignty. They are outrageous. What is the solution? The solution is to stabilize the national currency,” he said.
In addition to Gharazi, the other political figures approved by the Guardian Council are MP Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, former Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Velayati, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili, the director of the Strategic Research Center of the Expediency Council Hassan Rohani, Secretary of the Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei, former First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Aref, and Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf.
The eight candidates were approved after a 10-day vetting process. The president of Iran is elected for a four-year term in a national election, and the Guardian Council vets the candidates.
Iranians go to the polls in the nationâ„¢s 11th presidential election on June 14. Over 66,000 polling stations will be set up across the country. Expatriates will also be able to cast ballots at 285 polling stations that will be set up in foreign countries.
NN/MP/AS/HMV
This article originally appeared on: Press TV