The Iranian body that vets election candidates has reinstated another 251 people who had been banned from running in next month's parliamentary vote.

The authorities have already overturned bans on more than 800 candidates.
Correspondents say it is not clear how much impact the reinstatements will have on the chances of opposition parties in the election.

The newly-approved candidates have very little time now to campaign before the election on 14 March. A spokesman for the Guardian Council, Abbasali Kadkhodaei, said those reinstated were from different political camps, including reformist candidates who had criticised the council for failing to ensure a competitive race.

The council also oversees all legislation in Iran. Candidates are vetted to check loyalty to Iran's Islamic revolutionary system. This process will continue for several weeks and the final list of approved candidates will be announced on 5 March. Reformists were defeated in 2004 after hundreds of such disqualifications.

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This shows there is a great desire for the people of Iran to make a chang ein their country. Eventhough alot of people were denied the right to run they still have the drive and want to represent their country.

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Five Web Sites Shut Down During Iranian Elections

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian authorities banned five Web sites that comment on current events for "poisoning" public opinion ahead of the crucial mid-March parliamentary elections, the state radio reported on Thursday.

The move is the latest in an election period which has seen the Interior Ministry, run by hard-liners close to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, disqualify more than 2,000 prospective candidates — most of them reformers.

About 280 of those candidates were reinstated Tuesday by the Guardian Council, Iran's hard-line constitutional watchdog. But reformists have complained the reversal was insufficient to ensure a fair election.

In the past, the authorities have occasionally closed down some of the hundreds of private Web sites that comment on Iranian news and politics. But this was the first time they closed down five at once — a reflection of growing tension ahead of the vote.

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Iranian leaders are trying to minimize propaganda during the elections. Traditional Iranian leaders do not want reformists to expose their plans for Iran, and the reformists feel that the shutting down of the web sites fails "to ensure a fair election."