Families of Iran’s presidential candidates to take part in TV shows

Trend.Az

Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting plans to air special TV shows with the presence of the families of Iran's presidential candidates, Maryam Jalali, head of IRIB Channel 2's Family Department, said on Saturday.

The TV shows will be aired from the Channel 2 of IRIB, the Asriran website quoted Jalali as saying.

"The shows will focus on the importance of family life," she explained. "The families of the candidates will take part in the shows in alphabetical order."

In the shows the wives and children of the candidates will talk about their life style so that people can judge about the hopeful's attitudes towards family, she said.

This comes as the eight candidates for Iran's upcoming presidential elections were left unsatisfied with the way the televised debates were held.

The first episode of the debate focused on economic issues. Former First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, and Secretary of Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei urged a change in the method of holding the debate.

Rezaei said he was ready to debate with economic experts and representatives of other candidates on economic issues. Aref said for his part that people should judge about candidates. He added that this way of holding debate is insulting.

Mr. Morteza Heidari, the coordinator of the debate said that 20 different scenarios had been proposed with the cooperation of academicians and finally this method was approved by the headquarters for election campaigns.

The debate had been arranged so that it looked like a TV show. The candidates had to answer multiple-choice tests and explain their feeling about certain pictures.

The IRIB says due to the high number of the candidates, it is not possible to hold face-to-face debates such as those which were held before the 2009 elections.

Iran will hold the 11th presidential election on June 14, 2013. The voters will select the successor of the current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is not able to participate in the elections for the third term according to the country's constitutional laws.

The president of Iran is elected for a four-year term in a national election. The Guardian Council has vetted the candidates for qualifications.