Iran’s moderates on top in parliamentary runoff
Iran’s moderates scored a success at parliamentary runoff elections, which could help Hassan Rouhani’s centrist government implement its pro-reform policies.
Iranians voted on Friday to elect the remaining 68 members of the legislative body, about half of whom are moderates. The other elected MPs of this round are either hardliners or independent.
In February, allies of the centrist president seized crucial wins in the elections of the parliament and the assembly of experts — the body that will determine the next supreme leader in the event of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death.
Despite putting an end to the hardliners’ 12-year dominance of parliament, president Rouhani’s allies still fall short of having a majority in the 290-seat body. However, the win is an endorsement of the country’s curbing of nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief — a bid to encourage foreign investment — and a welcome boost for Mr Rouhani’s policy of engagement with the west.
Domestic media, close to the centrist president, reported that moderates occupy more than 120 of the 290 seats in parliament, while the rest of the seats are almost equally divided between hardliners -- who oppose the nuclear agreement -- and independent members. Pro-president forces hope independent members of parliament will join them to form an absolute majority.
Although the hardliners lost their dominance in the parliament, they still have a strong hold in key bodies such as the judiciary and the Revolutionary Guards, which retains a grip on many businesses.
A major question for the new parliament, which will convene on May 27, remains that of who will preside over the next legislature. Supporters of the moderate and reformist forces will probably appeal to Mohammad-Reza Aref — the top figure of the camp who gained the highest vote in the country — to run for the parliamentary speaker, especially considering the high probability that he could gain sufficient votes.
However, some analysts say the re-election to the post of Ali Larijani, a conservative who was supported by the moderate camps too, could give the government more power to lobby the hardliners. Experts say Mr Larijani could assist the government to implement policies that may otherwise be blocked by hardliners.
Mr Aref declined to comment on Saturday on whether he would run for the position of speaker. In an interview with the semi-official ISNA news agency, he also said that his allies in parliament would soon be launching a new faction called ‘Hope’, aimed at improving the country’s economy and its people’s daily lives.
Analysts believe increased co-operation between parliament and the government may help revitalise an economy suffering from prolonged stagnation and youth unemployment of 26.1 per cent.