Some 200 Iranian MPs are preparing a petition, asking President Mohammad Khatami to seek re-election in the June presidential polls, reported Iran’s official news agency (IRNA).
More deputies are expected to ink the letter ahead of crucial presidential election which has been under a bright spotlight for days amid Khatami's lingering procrastination over seeking a second term in office, said the agency.
Meanwhile, the agency reported that former Iranian labor minister Ahmad Tavakoli has announced he will be a candidate for president in the June 8 election.
Tavakoli, a former MP who is close to the conservative camp, will run as an independent, his office announced.
He ran against eventual winner Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani in the 1993 presidential race, beating Rafsanjani at the polls in the key western province of Kurdistan.
Khatami has still kept Iranians on tenterhooks as to whether he will run for president in the June presidential race, despite mounting pressures from his allies urging him to lead the pro-reform flagship for the establishment of a civic society and rule of law, IRNA added.
On Sunday, head of the Public Relations Office of the oversight Guardians Council, Ali Akbar Masoud-Pour denied rumors that Khatami's eligibility for the candidacy could be turned down, said IRNA, citing local press.
"Mr. Khatami has not committed any offense to have his legibility turned down," he said, adding that such rumors had been invoked by the foreign media – Albawaba.com
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