TEHRAN -- Majlis lawmaker Rouhollah Hosseini stated on Thursday that principlists will definitely reach a consensus on the candidacy of the incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

“Principlists’ consensus on Ahmadinejad is definite,” Hosseini told the Mehr News Agency.
Hosseini also said former reformist president Mohammad Khatami’s candidacy would not play an effective role in uniting principlists.
Though Khatami’s candidacy will have a little effect on agreeing a consensus candidate in the conservative camp, the principlists will finally gather behind Ahmadinejad whether Khatami would have run or not, the conservative MP said.
Khatami served as president from 1997 to 2005. He swept to power in a landslide in 1997 on promises of political and social change and won reelection in another landslide in 2001.
He recently announced his candidacy for the June 12 presidential election.
Hosseini also predicted that principlists would win the June presidential elections whether Khatami had contested the election or not.
Mohammad Reza Bahonar of the Majlis principlist faction also told ISNA news agency on Thursday that principlists have more agreement on Ahmadinejad but the camp has time to make the final decision.
Hasan Bayadi, the spokesman of Young Developers Society, also told ISNA on Thursday that Ahmadinejad is the only person in the conservative faction who will definitely contest the elections.
He also said it is not yet clear who will definitely contest the elections in conservative camp but until this date only Ahmadinejad is the faction’s candidate.