Ending weeks of speculation, Rouhani officially announced on Friday that he would seek a second term by registering at the Interior Ministry on the weekend.

The 12th presidential election in Iran will be held on May 19.
Among the other renowned figures applying for candidacy for the post of president on Friday was Mostafa Kavakebian, a member of the parliament.

Moreover, the reports said on Friday that a heavyweight of the “principalist” political faction, Saeed Jalili, would not participate in the presidential race.

During the previous presidential election in June 2013, Rouhani garnered 50.7 percent of a total of over 36 million votes.

Nearly 50.5 million Iranians were eligible to vote in the 11th presidential election, and the voter turnout in the polls stood at 72.7 percent.

/SR