TEHRAN (Tasnim) – 65 Iranian clerics registered on Thursday for candidacy in the upcoming Assembly of Experts election due to be held in February 2016, an official announced.

Thursday was the first day of registration for the February election, Mohammad Hossein Moqimi, the head of Iran’s elections committee said, adding that 65 people throughout the country registered on the first day to run in the Assembly of Experts vote.

Next week would be the deadline for all potential candidates of Assembly of Experts election to enter the race, he noted, adding that registration for parliamentary election will also open on Saturday.

Iranian people are scheduled to cast their votes in the parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections on February 26, 2016.

There are currently 290 seats in the Iranian parliament, known as Majlis, elected by direct vote of people in nationwide election for four years.

The Assembly of Experts is also a high-ranking body that elects and oversees the activities of the leader of the Islamic Revolution.

Members of the assembly are directly elected to office by people for an eight-year term. It holds biannual meetings to appoint a new chairman.

By Tasnim News Agency