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Iran Election Gatekeepers Keep Tight Control on Candidates for Key Panel
(Washington Post) Brian Murphy - Iran's election overseers have cleared only one-fifth of the potential candidates seeking a spot on the 88-member Assembly of Experts - the panel with powers to select the country's next supreme leader, an official said Tuesday. Of 801 candidates, just 166 were approved for the Feb. 26 ballot. Such widespread vetting of candidates is a fixture of Iranian politics, culling those perceived as potential threats to the ruling system and the Revolutionary Guard Corps. Last week, the election gatekeepers, known as the Guardian Council, disqualified more than 7,000 of the 12,000 people seeking seats in parliament.