Rouhani allies win Iran parliament poll

Tehran, April 30

Reformist and moderate Iranian politicians allied with President Hassan Rouhani won the second round of parliamentary elections, preliminary results said today, capping a remarkable comeback after years of isolation.

The outcome represents a significant realignment of competing factions in the Islamic republic, with conservative MPs losing their dominance and being outnumbered for the first time since 2004.

The result is also an implicit public vote of confidence for Rouhani, who won a landslide election victory in 2013 and went on to clinch a historic deal with world powers over Tehran’s nuclear programme that lifted sanctions.

Tallies also showed 17 women were elected — eight more than at present and the highest female representation since the country’s revolution in 1979. Almost a quarter of parliament’s seats were at stake in run-offs Friday in what was a showdown between reformists and conservatives seeking to influence the country’s future. —AFP