However, he said Karrubi has yet to make his final decision about running for president.

“After 10 hours of discussions in three council meetings, the National Confidence Party on Monday elected Karroubi as its nominee for the presidential election and invited him to run for president,” he told the Mehr News Agency.

“Karrubi will consider the invitation and will announce his opinion in coming weeks,” he added.

In a separate interview with the Mehr News Agency, Servants of Construction Party spokesman Hossein Mar’ashi said, “For now, Karrubi is the reformists’ only nominee for the presidential election.”

Some reformist parties are also trying to persuade former president Mohammad Khatami to run for the next election.

Mar’ashi rejected speculations that Karroubi’s nomination will create division among reformists, saying, “Mr. khatami has not yet made any decision about running for president. Only some parties have requested him to contest the next election.”

If reformists set up a union, the NPC will not make any independent decision about the elections and will act within the framework of the reformists union, he added.

The Mehr News Agency also sought the views of Mohsen Armin of the Islamic Revolution Mojahedin Organization (IRMO) about the 2009 presidential vote.

Armin said, “The National Confidence Party’s decision to nominate Karrubi has created the first division among reformists as the Mojahedin Organization believes Khatami would be the presumptive reformist nominee for the 2009 vote.”

“The Mojahedin Organization is determined to nominate Khatami for the 10th presidential election,” Armin stressed.

He called on the Islamic Iran Participation Party and IRMO to coordinate their efforts to introduce Khatami as the reformist faction’s presumptive nominee in response to some groups’ efforts to make sure that Khatami will not run for election.

“Even if Khatami is persuaded to contest the election, the country’s political and social environment should be prepared for this nomination otherwise we cannot be sure that Khatami will make this decision,” Armin stated.

“Reformists have the duty to provide the ground for Khatami’s nomination to help his close friends focus on convincing Khatami himself.”

BA/PA

END

MNA