Source: CNBC
Early results of Iran’s parliamentary and Experts Assembly elections show moderate forces close to centrist president Hassan Rouhani have gained the upper hand over hardliners, putting an end to the dominance of their rivals in the legislative body after about 12 years.
Although this victory would not translate into a majority of seats in the next parliament and the Assembly, the hardliners’ loss of controlling power will help Mr Rouhani and moderate forces to push for economic and political reforms after the landmark nuclear agreement that led to the lifting of crippling sanctions on the country.
In the Tehran constituency, which carries symbolic political significance, moderate forces lead both polls with a large gap, according to latest official figures, after pro-reform leaders, notably former president Mohammad Khatami, appealed for supporters to vote.
More than 60 per cent of eligible Iranians voted on Friday in elections widely seen as a verdict on the policies of Mr Rouhani. Competition between Iranian hardliners and moderates had been fierce ahead of the poll to choose 290 members of parliament and 88 senior clerics to sit in the experts assembly.
Read MoreReformists leading in Iran parliament vote
The assembly is significant because it chooses the country’s next supreme leader should Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the 76-year-old incumbent, die during its eight-year term.
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former centrist president, Mr Rouhani and other moderate clerics lead the Tehran constituency polls for 16 seats of the Experts Assembly, while only two prominent hardline figures have so far made it to the next assembly from the capital. One of the most hardline figures, Mohammad Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi, is at risk of failing the race.
No comments:
Post a Comment