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Conservatives Crowned Winners in Iran
Iranâs conservatives were yesterday crowned as winners of the parliamentary elections, securing a firm majority in the assembly after polls that most of their incumbent reformist rivals were barred from contesting.
| Yeah. I've been on the edge of my seat while the votes were being counted... |
Final results from the Interior Ministry showed a likely coalition of hard-liners, conservatives and other right-wingers holding 156 of the 290 Majlis seats after the first round of voting. Reformists were decimated with just 39 seats. In addition, they can only contest 17 of the 58 seats that need a second round â pointing to a crushing right-wing majority when the new parliament convenes in May. The result was hardly a surprise, given that the fix was in Guardians Council blacklisted most reformists ahead of the polls. But it was nevertheless a devastating blow to the reform camp, which swept to power in 2000 with a huge majority in the Majlis but saw its efforts to democratize the country blocked by more powerful hard-liners in the Guardians Council, judiciary or other right-wing bastions.
| Showed all that "democracy" stuff up as play-acting... |
It will also spell isolation for President Mohammad Karensky Khatami, who will be one of the few reformers left in public office before his second and final term ends in June 2005. Although his drive for political and social reforms look set to be halted, conservatives have vowed they will keep up economic reforms.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2004-02-26 |
