Preliminary results from Iran's parliamentary elections give a decisive edge to opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a shift that could shape the 2013 presidential election.
News agencies said Saturday that the results of Friday's second round of polling show strong support for the religious leadership, including loyalists to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Sixty-five seats in Iran's 290 seat parliament were at stake in the second round of polling.
Conservative opponents of Ahmadinejad won a majority of seats in the first round of voting in March.
Analysts say relations between the the president and the supreme leader have become strained. The president upset Khamenei loyalists last year when he challenged the supreme leader's authority in appointing top government officials.
Ahmadinejad is in his second and final term, but the outcome of Friday's polling could influence the election of his successor.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
No comments:
Post a Comment