Conservatives appear ascendant in Iran elections
Conservative appear ascendant in Iran’s ‘unfair’ parliamentary elections.
Polling was extended by four hours yesterday, beyond the official closing time, to allow last minute ballots. Polls closed at 10:00 (1830 GMT).
According to psephologists, the national turnout was 47-52 per cent.
This figure is down on the 67 per cent four years ago when reformers took majority control of the 290-seat Majlis or Parliament.
But in this election, more than 2,000 ‘liberal’ candidates were refused the right to stand by the hardline 12-member Guardian Council and a further 1,179 contenders withdrew.
But Tehran’s conservative supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on voters to go to the polls, saying Iran’s ‘enemies’ wanted a boycott.
The Council charged moderates with infringing upon Islamic law enshrined in the constitution.
Conservative hegemony now appears a foregone conclusion and reformers fear a backlash in the aftermath of the vote.
Reformers slammed the elections ‘unfair.’ Before the elections got underway, the main reformist party, the Islamic Iran Participation Front, was effectively closed down by the unelected clerics.
Adam Ereli, a spokesman for the US state department, said the banning of liberal candidates was an attempt to ‘limit the choice of the Iranian people.’
‘These actions do not represent free and fair elections and are not consistent with international norms, he added
