Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may face charges for appearing with his former chief of staff to register for June’s presidential vote, the country’s electoral watchdog said, as reported by the Associated Press.

The electoral law of Iran forbids the use of state resources on behalf or against any candidate, and makes it illegal for individuals from supporting candidates in an official capacity. Ahmadinejad may be charged for doing just that.

Abbas Ali Kadhokai, a spokesman for the Guardian Council, said the council’s supervisory board unanimously agreed that the, “actions of the president (Ahmadinejad) in introducing an individual as an election candidate constituted a violation and were criminal,” according to Khabaraonline, an Iranian news site.

Kadhokai said that Ahmadinejad’s appearance with the aide has been reported to the judiciary.

The Guardian Council, a group of clerics and jurists, vets all candidates for elections.

Ahmadinejad is banned on constitutional grounds from running in the June 14 presidential polls, the first since 2009, when protests erupted over his much disputed win against reformist rivals, according to the Associated Press.

He went with Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie on Saturday to register at the Interior Ministry. The images in the Iranian media showed the president and Mashaie gripping hands and making peace signs.

According to the Mehr news agency, Kadkhodai said election violations could affect the Guardian Council’s vetting process, Mashaie’s candidacy could be under threat.

Since the 2009 ballot, Ahmadinejad has fallen foul of Iran’s ruling conservatives, who believe he is trying to maintain influence via a Mashaie presidency, reports the Associated Press.

Mashaei is still part of Ahmadinejad’s entourage and is viewed with suspicion by current conservatives who has accused him of leading a “deviant current” that seeks to sideline clerical power in favor of a more nationalistic doctrine.

Mashaei argues that the president accompanied him on a “day off” from work.