PERSIA POTPOURRI
What’s up:
Iranian authorities hailed strong turnout in twin votes for municipal councils and a powerful clerical body that appeared to have helped embattled moderate forces to a respectable showing.
In Tehran province, a bellwether for national political trends, partial results for the Assembly of Experts vote on Friday showed that centrist cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was well ahead of his ultra-conservative rival.
Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, seen as a spiritual mentor to hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was relegated to sixth place with half the votes counted, Interior Minister Mostafa Pour Mohammadi said.
For the local elections, unconfirmed reports showed that Tehran city council would be shared between conservatives, reformists and technocrats — an improvement for moderates who currently have no seats on the council.
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The top 16 names in Tehran province will make it on to the next Assembly of Experts. While Rafsanjani and Mesbah Yazdi both appear certain to win seats, the strength of Rafsanjani’s showing is proving a major surprise.
Many commentators were quick to write the political obituary of the former president after his humiliating election defeat to Ahmadinejad in 2005.
However he has since moved closer towards the reformist faction, a fact symbolised by his decision to cast his vote standing next to former reformist president Mohammad Khatami. Article
