In this Sunday, March 26, 2017 photo, hopeful candidates for municipal elections, fill out official documents to register on the last day of registration, at the governorate building, in Tehran, Iran. Iran's state TV is reporting that a significantly higher number of Iranians have registered seeking to run in the municipal elections next month. The TV says 287,000 -- or 14 percent more than four years ago -- have submitted their candidacies, hoping to be approved to contest the vote for the nearly 110,000 council members for city councils across Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Republished March 27, 2017 - 1:17 AM
Original Publication Date March 26, 2017 - 11:45 PM
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's state TV says a significantly higher number of Iranians are seeking to run in the municipal elections next month.
Monday's report says 287,000 hopefuls — or 14 per cent more than four years ago — submitted their candidacies, hoping to be approved to contest the vote for the nearly 110,000 members for city councils across Iran.
The candidates had a week to register and those approved will be announced by a parliament-led committee early next month.
Municipal councils, set up in the 1990s, choose city mayors and decide on the spending of their constituencies' budgets.
The May 19 vote is to be held at the same time as the country's presidential election.
Under the law, Iran's current President Hassan Rouhani is eligible to run for another term in office.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017