Press commentators accepted the complaints of several candidates that the Friday debate's format, which gave little scope for real discussion of issues, had not helped them present their policies.
But with inflation topping 30 percent after a 70 percent fall in the value of the rial against the dollar sent the cost of imports soaring, editorial writers, analysts and ordinary viewers agreed that the presidential hopefuls needed to set out more substantial policies.
The final eight candidates were approved by the Guardians Council, Iran's unelected electoral watchdog, from 686 who registered to stand.
No women candidates were approved, and the disqualifications included moderate ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
... the fourth President of Iran. He was a member of the Assembly of Experts until he was eased out in 2011 He continues, for the moment, as Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council. In 2005 he ran for a third term as president, ultimately losing to rival Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was in Khamenei's graces back then. In 1980 Rafsanjani survived an assassination attempt, during which he was seriously injured. He has been described as a centrist and a
pragmatic conservativewithout all that much reason. He is currently being eased out of any position of actual influence or power and may be dead by the end of 2012...
and incumbent
Mahmoud Short RoundAhmadinejad's close ally Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie.
Constitutionally, Ahmadinejad himself cannot stand for a third consecutive term.
"The candidates all said they were going to resolve the problem of inflation but none of them explained how they were going to do it," complained one viewer interviewed by state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
Economist Hossein Raghfar told the reformist Aftab newspaper that none of the eight appeared to have established economic policies.
"It had been expected that each candidate would present his own solutions to control inflation, unemployment or support for domestic production, but none of them showed a clear solution which means they did not have an established plan," said Raghfar.
"In such circumstances, we cannot expect an improvement in the situation in the country."
Analyst Mohammad Saleh Sedghian agreed.
"There was no debate on their various economic policies, and this would not give the electorate a clear idea of each candidate's economic plans," he told AFP.
Mohammad Mehdi Forqani, communications professor at a Tehran university, told the Mehr news agency that the candidates had not been helped by the format of the debate, which "did not have the element of challenge".
"The multiple choice system of questioning was also not dignified for candidates in a presidential contest," he added.
The lone reformist candidate, former first vice president Mohammad Reza Aref, refused to take part in one section of the broadcast in which each candidate was given multiple choice questions about his programme.
And conservative candidate Mohsen Rezai, a former commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards, told his own Tabnak website he would boycott the next two debates scheduled for Wednesday and Friday if the format does not change.
"I felt like I was back in elementary school... The fact that candidates were disrespected is not as important as the millions watching the debates being insulted," moderate candidate Hassan Rowhani told news hounds.