File picture of Iranian youths under a large picture of Iran’s late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a park in Tehran.

Iran has approved an extra 1,500 candidates to contest this month’s parliamentary election, raising the total number of hopefuls by around a third, an electoral official said Saturday.

The increase came after previously rejected candidates presented new evidence of their credentials, allowing a partial reversal of the mass disqualification of thousands last month.

Those seeking to become one of Iran’s 290 lawmakers must first be screened by the Guardian Council, a conservative-dominated committee of clerics and jurists.

The vetting procedure is contentious because the February 26 poll is an opportunity for reformists and moderate politicians to make gains against a currently conservative majority in parliament.

On January 18, officials said 4,700 prospective candidates had been approved from more than 12,000 original applications.

But 6,180 are now eligible, said interior ministry spokesman Hossein Ali Amiri on Saturday, according to official IRNA news agency.

“In no other elections have we had so many approved candidates, which is partly due to the increased number of registrations,” he said.

Among those excluded last month were thousands from Iran’s reformist movement, a group with little parliamentary representation.

On hearing of the rejections, reformists asked President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate cleric with close ties to the reform movement, to intervene and seek changes.

Reformists largely stayed away from legislative polls four years ago in protest at the disputed re-election as president of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in 2009.

Rouhani is hoping his allies can capitalize in the elections after last month’s implementation of Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers lifted longstanding sanctions.

Reformists have yet to announce how many of their candidates were re-approved. One official said last month that only one percent of its applicants — 30 from 3,000 — were deemed eligible but others have said many more would be allowed to stand.

The 6,180 number could rise again, as a number of initially approved candidates were subsequently rejected by the Guardian Council. They have three days to appeal.

“147 people were barred by the Guardian Council” but if they have documents proving their qualification they can object, Amiri said.

“The Guardian Council’s opinion is absolute and final except for these 147.”

A final list of candidates is to be published on February 16.

The parliamentary poll is taking place on the same day as the election of Iran’s highest clerical body, the Assembly of Experts, a powerful committee that monitors the work of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The 88-member committee picked to serve by voters will be elected to an eight-year term.

That election is seen by many as more important that the parliamentary ballot as assembly members, who are also vetted in advance, will be responsible for picking a new supreme leader when Khamenei, who is 76, dies.

“We are now reviewing the Assembly of Experts candidates and the results will be determined on February 10,” said Siamak Rah-Peyk, spokesman for the Central Elections Supervising Committee.

Related articles across the web

• Iran Elections Update
• Iran, Russia ink $40 billion in projects
• Ayatollah Khomeini's grandson registers for Iran Assembly election: State media
• Iranian Regime, Not Private Business, Benefitting From Post-Nuclear Deal Sanctions Relief
• Event highlights interest in advanced reactors
• Iran Registers Candidates for Powerful Clerical Body
• Trash-Talking: Collecting Garbage Isn't A Crime In Tehran. Or Is It?
• Supreme Leader hails bravery of Iranians martyred in Syria
• Khomeini's grandson seeking key official position in Iran
• 'Fawning' over Holocaust deniers