Moderates Seen Making Early Gains in High-Stakes Iran Vote
Moderates and reformists supporting President Hassan Rouhani appeared to have made a strong showing in high stakes elections that could speed or slow Iran’s post-sanctions opening to the world, according to early unofficial results on Saturday.
Tens of millions thronged polling stations on Friday to vote for parliament and the Assembly of Experts in a poll seen by analysts as a potential turning point for Iran, where nearly 60 percent of the 80 million population is under 30.
Interior Ministry officials said counting of the votes in Tehran and other cities was still not final, but preliminary results carried out by the semi-official Fars and Mehr News agencies indicate reformists and independents linked to them were leading so far against hardliners in several cities.
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