A prominent principlist figure said the list of nominees of the Principlist Coalition for the upcoming parliamentary elections will be released on Feb. 5.
Speaking in a press conference in Tehran on Monday, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, secretary-general of the Front of the Followers of the Line of Imam and the Leader, said the list will be out on the same day the Guardians Council is expected to release a preliminary list of qualified hopefuls, IRNA reported. The next elections to pick representatives for the 10th Majlis elections will take place simultaneously on February 26.
"For Tehran [Province], only two or three positions are empty," he said. "27 or 28 of those who will be in Tehran's list are now determined."
There are 290 seats in the Majlis distributed among 207 electoral districts. With 30 seats, Tehran has the largest delegation of any district.
On the composition of Tehran's list, Bahonar said it has tried to be inclusive and various principlist parties have representatives, while there are 10-12 candidates with no party affiliations.
"We have managed to reduce the mean age of candidates [compared to previous lists]," he said. "More women are on this list, while candidates with expertise in economic, cultural, political and social affairs have been included."
Bahonar, who is the current deputy parliament speaker, said the list of principlists, in addition to the list of reformists, are the two decisive lists that will shape the landscape of elections.
From a total of 150 Tehran representatives in the past nine Majlis, only five had not been in one of these two lists," he said. "In the upcoming election, candidates on the lists will have a high chance of being elected."
A record number of 12,123 individuals registered for the upcoming Majlis elections, where Tehran Province registered 2,477 candidates.
The Guardians Council, a clerical charged with supervising the elections, began to vet the candidates on January 17 and will release a list of qualified candidates on February 5.
Disqualified hopefuls will have three days to appeal the decision and seek further investigation, while their objections will be processed in seven days.
The final list of qualified candidates will be released on February 16.
