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Reformists hang on in Iranian elections

Iranians choose their candidates from a list on a public bus being used as a polling station in Tehran on Friday. PHOTO: AFP

Conservatives were on course yesterday to win legislative elections in Iran, but with their reformist rivals retaining a foothold in parliament despite the mass veto of candidates before the vote.

The authorities hailed a "glorious" turnout of more than 65 percent in Friday's poll, far higher than the lackluster figure in the previous election in 2004 that saw reformists lose their majority in the chamber.

"The nation's vote broke the enemy's back," MMKayhan, a hardline newspaper, crowed on its front page.

However, Iran's highly factional politics means it is unclear if the results will have any bearing on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's chance of winning next year's presidential poll.

Results announced so far by the interior ministry show the reformists have won eight seats out of 40 and conservatives 16, with the rest going to independent candidates. Results from smaller towns and cities were to be announced later yesterday but those from Tehran -- which will deliver 30 members of parliament (MP) to the 290-seat parliament -- would not be announced for several days, officials said.

The main reformist coalition could only field 102 candidates for the 260 seats outside Tehran due to the pre-vote disqualifications but was still expecting to win 44 of these seats, its spokesman Abdollah Nasseri said.

If confirmed this would mean that reformists have managed to keep a respectable minority in parliament, where they currently have around 40 MPs, despite losing hundreds of their best candidates in the vetting.

The semi-official Fars news agency projected that conservatives were set to reap 70 percent of the seats while English-language state television channel Press-TV said they had won 65 seats out of 89 decided so far.

The authorities had called for a huge turnout to send a message of national unity to Iran's enemies amid continued tensions with the West over its nuclear drive.

"Fortunately and contrary to our expectations, the participation has been overwhelming," Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Pour Mohammadi said.
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