Iranian presidential contender Mohsen Rezaei says he is ready to hold debates with the representatives of the country\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s outgoing administration over issues raised in the live debates between the candidates.\n<\/p>\n
Rezaei said on Wednesday that the absence of a representative from the administration of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad represented a \u00c5\u201cvoid\u201d in the televised debates of presidential candidates.\n<\/p>\n
The incumbent administration should be given the opportunity to defend itself because one-sided criticism does not bring about clarity, said Rezaei.\n<\/p>\n
The secretary of the Expediency Council said he had also requested President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) Ezzatollah Zarghami to hold a fourth round of debate among candidates.\n<\/p>\n
Presidential candidates held their third live television debate on Friday, a week before Iranians would go the polls on June 14th to pick the next president. Issues such as foreign policy, national security and resistance, developments in the Middle East and Iran\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s nuclear energy program were discussed in the program.\n<\/p>\n
The candidates had earlier discussed their economic and socio-cultural policies in two other debates.\n<\/p>\n
The six candidates competing in Iran\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s presidential election include President of the Expediency Council\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s Center for Strategic Research Hassan Rohani, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili, Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei, Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, and former Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Gharazi.\n<\/p>\n
Two presidential candidates, former First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref and former Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, withdrew their candidacies on Monday.\n<\/p>\n
The president of Iran is elected for a four-year term in a national election. Nearly 50.5 million Iranians are eligible to vote in the upcoming presidential poll.\n<\/p>\n
On June 14, Iranians will cast their ballots at over 66,000 polling stations across the country in the nation\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s 11th presidential election. Iranian nationals abroad will also be able to vote at 285 polling stations overseas.\n<\/p>\n
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