In Iran Parliament vote, reformists have the lead

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 none of the three competing political factions will win a majority alone in the 290-seat 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 are yet to release early results but reports in the semiofficial Fars and Mehr news agencies and a count conducted by the Associated Press show hard-liners are the main losers of the vote.

Iranians across the Islamic Republic voted Friday in the country’s first election since its landmark nuclear deal with world powers, deciding whether to further empower its moderate president or side with hard-liners long suspicious of the West.

The election for Iran’s parliament and a clerical body known as the Assembly of Experts hinges on both the policies of President Hassan Rouhani, as well as Iranians worries about the country’s economy, long battered by international sanctions.

Nearly 55 million of Iran’s 80 million people are eligible to vote. Voters cast ballots at about 53,000 polling stations, writing down the names of their picks on two separate ballots and dyeing their fingers with ink to show they had voted.

Polls were closed at midnight and officials immediately began counting the ballots. As more ballots are counted, reformists appeared to be on the path to expand their presence from the fewer than 20 they currently hold.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader who has final say on all state matters, was among the first to vote in Tehran.

“Whoever likes Iran and its dignity, greatness and glory should participate in this election,” he said after casting his ballot. “We have enemies who are eyeing us greedily. Turnout in the elections should be such that our enemy will be disappointed and will lose its hope. People should be observant and vote with open eyes.”

Rouhani, a candidate in the Assembly of Experts election, addressed journalists after voting, saying he expected an “epic” turnout.

“Whoever comes out of the ballot boxes, either in the parliament or the Assembly of Experts, with the votes of the people will be respected by us and everyone will respect the votes of the majority of the people,” he said.

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.