Moderates And Reformists Dominate Iranian Elections
Early results in Iran's parliamentary elections has indicated a general voters' sentiment favoring reformists and moderate conservatives over political hardliners who are known for their anti-Western rhetoric. If the gains will continue until all votes are counted, incumbent President Hassan Rouhani may stand a better chance of pushing his agenda with less obstacles in the parliament.
According to a report by CNBC, the reformists form an alliance with moderate conservatives and capitalize on earlier gains achieved by Rouhani after reaching a historic nuke agreement which partially lifted international economic sanctions in return for halting its nuclear program which Iran repeatedly insists as purely civilian without military applications.
Among the clerical contenders for Iran's 16-man-strong Assembly of Experts, partial results showed 14 leading candidates belonged to reformist-moderate list led by Rouhani and Rafsanjani with some consensus candidates supported by the hardliners. Only two known hardliners managed to slip through the top 16 as mentioned by ABC News.
In a Reuters tally, known reformists, moderates, and allied independents were leading in the vote count leading people to believe with stronger electoral mandate, Rouhani's reforms will be further legitimized.
"It seems the number of candidates who belong to the reformist and independent groups will be the majority in parliament and I am hopeful that the new parliament will be perfect for us," he told Reuters. In the Assembly of Experts our initial expectation was 15 to 20 percent but it seems it will be beyond that," said former adviser to former President Mohammad Khatami Saeed Leylaz as quoted by the Reuters.
