Iranian presidential hopeful Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel says the registration of certain political figures for the election necessitates unity among principlists more than ever before, Press TV<\/b> reports.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cWith the recent registrations of certain hopefuls such as Mr. Hashemi Rafasnjani and Mr. Rahim-Mashaei for the election, we feel the necessity to reach a consensus more than before,\u201d Haddad-Adel told university students in Tehran on Tuesday.\n<\/p>\n
He went on to say that \u00c5\u201cprinciplists need to be united more than ever before, and they are more likely to be united now.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
The principlist hopeful also said that due to the diversity of hopefuls among the principlist camp, the Collation of Three \u00c5\u201chas agreed to reach a consensus on who should run for president.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
The other members of the principlist coalition are former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, who is currently a senior advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cMr. Qalibaf, Mr. Velayati and I have agreed to pick one of the coalition\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s members if our qualification is approved by the Guardian Council,\u201d Haddad-Adel added.\n<\/p>\n
He also predicted that by the time the Guardian Council announces the final list of candidates, some hopefuls may drop out in favor of other rivals.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cOther hopefuls may drop out of the race before the final list is announced as some of them have already done so since Saturday and the same may happen during the next two or three days,\u201d Haddad-Adel stated.\n<\/p>\n
Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and head of the Secretariat of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei registered for the election at the Iranian Interior Ministry before the registration deadline ended on Saturday.\n<\/p>\n
A total of 686 individuals signed up for Iran\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s 11th presidential election, which will be held on June 14.\n<\/p>\n
The president of Iran is elected for a four-year term in a national election, and the Guardian Council vets the candidates based on their qualifications.\n<\/p>\n
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