Presidential Hopefuls Outline Economic Plans in First Debate

Seven presidential candidates exchanged views on economic issues during Saturday’s three-hour long debate that covered topics of unemployment, domestic production, the annual budget and growing inflation and liquidity. 
In the first of three televised debates, each candidate had three minutes to answer to each question asked by moderator Morteza Heydari, IRNA reported.
One of the main contenders in the race, Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raeisi, pointed to the introduction of tax cuts for business owners as one of the best ways to boost production and tackle the country’s economic problems.
Asked about the rising inflation, the candidate said, “The issue of inflation has solutions. Market stability is critical and government intervention in the market is meaningless.”
According to Raeisi, the government’s role is to “guide and support” the market.
Another presidential hopeful, former governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Abdolnasser Hemmati, highlighted the importance of compliance with the regulations of the global finance watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), to handle challenges faced by the country.
Later during the debate, Hemmati noted that the market should determine commodity prices, not the government. “I fully support the independence of the central bank,” he added. 
The other five presidential hopefuls found qualified by the Guardian Council are: secretary of the Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei, former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, lawmaker Alireza Zakani, the parliament’s first deputy speaker Amir Hossein Qazizadeh Hashemi and Mohsen Mehralizadeh, the former vice president and head of the National Sports Organization of Iran.
The second presidential debate is slated for Tuesday and will cover social and cultural issues and the third and final debate, scheduled for next Saturday, will discuss domestic and foreign politics. 
The 13th presidential election will be held on June 18, concurrent with city council elections.