Reformists, moderates lead in early Iran results
TEHRAN, Iran — Reformists and moderate conservatives are leading in the race for parliament, according to early election results, an indication President Hassan Rouhani may face a more friendly house to pursue his domestic agenda.
Early returns Saturday morning from Friday’s parliamentary polls show that none of the three competing political factions will win a majority alone in the 290seat parliament, but reformists seeking greater democratic changes are heading to win their strongest presence in parliament since 2004 at the expense of hard-liners.
Officials have yet to release early results, but reports in the semiofficial Fars and Mehr news agencies and a count conducted by The Associated Press show that hard-liners are the main losers of the vote.
Friday’s election for Iran’s parliament and a powerful clerical body known as the Assembly of Experts was the first since Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers last year.
The elections are controlled by the establishment headed by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which ultimately determines who can run.
But within the range allowed by the Islamic Republic, the voting may provide a referendum on Rouhani’s policies — and his promises that the nuclear deal, the lifting of most international sanctions and a greater degree of opening to the West can help boost a battered economy — a top concern for most voters.
Nearly 55 million of Iran’s 80 million people were eligible to vote. Participation figures and other statistics were not available, though Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli predicted Thursday there would be a turnout of 70 percent.
In Tehran, voter Hossein Gerami said he backed reformists to support Rouhani.
“The country suffered under hard-liners,” he said. “Today is the time to change Iran for the better.”
Sakineh Mamoudi, who backed hard-liners, said she worried about Western influence growing in Iran.
“I voted for those who protect the values of the revolution and oppose foreign domination of the country because I don’t want pro-West figures to get control of the parliament,” Mamoudi said.
The nuclear deal has been the centerpiece of Rouhani’s policies since he was elected in 2013 — and the sealing of the deal won Iran the lifting of most international sanctions against it.
He and the negotiating team had to push against hard-liner opposition. Supreme leader Khamenei eventually gave his consent to the final result.
Now reformists want to build on that opening to the world, promising improvements in the economy.
Despite the nuclear deal, Iran and the West have a long history of enmity, fueled by the 1953 Britain and U.S.-engineered coup that installed the shah and the 1979 Islamic Revolution and takeover of the American Embassy.
A billboard in Tehran showed the face of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II replaced with that of a camel, warning voters about “foreign meddling.”
The vote is unlikely to radically change Iran, but reformists and moderates peeling away seats from hard-liners could help Rouhani push through his domestic agenda.