Four contenders run for presidency in IranMay 21, 2009 - 18:22 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - On May 20, 2009, Iran's Guardian Council approved candidacies of former Iranian Premier Mir-Hossein Mousavi, former Parliament Speaker Mehdi Karrubi, former Revolutionary Guard Commander Mohsen Rezaei and incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Of the 400 registered candidates, 42 were women. Any citizen in Iran is eligible to submit claim for candidacy, Iran.ru reports. President is the guarantor of state and Head of the executive. Decisions on key issues are made only after Supreme Leader's approval. President appoints Ministers' Council members and coordinates Government's activities. Parliament- Majlis, the country's top legislative body, approves ten Vice Presidents and 21 Cabinet Ministers' candidacies. Although Defense and Intelligence Ministers are appointed by President, their candidacies should be preliminarily approved by Supreme Council. The President is elected by universal suffrage for the term of 4 years. Electoral campaign starts on May 22. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |