TEHRAN - 12,123 people have signed up for Iranian parliamentary elections, the most since the 1979-Islamic Revolution, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said on Saturday.

The parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections will be held simultaneously on February 26.

The number of people who had registered to stand in the elections before the Friday deadline was up more than 100 percent compared with the previous legislative polls in 2012, Rahmani Fazli said.

This shows that 42 people will vie for a seat in the parliament on average, the minister said.

The number of candidates stood at “12,123, of whom 1,434 were women,” IRNA quoted the Interior Ministry as saying.

Women accounted for 12 percent of the hopefuls for the 290 seats available in the polls, up from eight percent last time.

The ratio of candidates below the age of 50 increased from 67 percent to 73 percent. The youngest and oldest candidates to apply were 30 and 75 in age.

However, the final number of candidates is expected to be much lower after the Guardian Council vets applications, with a final list due for publication on February 9.

“We will give assurances that both the Guardian council, the Interior Ministry, and other executive and supervisory boards will screen the candidates based on law,” the interior minister told reporters.

Voting will be held on the same day as the election for the Assembly of Experts will be held.

A total of 801 candidates applied to run for the 88-seat assembly, although this number is also likely to fall after they have been screened by the council.