Reformists Gain 2 Seats in Iranian Parliament

Two reformists who narrowly missed winning seats in Iran’s legislative elections in February have won runoff elections here, state-run Iranian radio reported Saturday.

The election of Elias Hazrati and Ali Akbar Mohtashami-Pour slightly boosts the pro-reform majority in the 290-seat parliament, or Majlis.

Mohtashami-Pour is the publisher of the reformist newspaper Bayan, one of 19 pro-reform newspapers shut down by hard-liners in the last three months.

The two vacant seats in greater Tehran were contested Friday by four pro-reform candidates who narrowly failed to win in February. Only 160,000 of Tehran’s 5 million eligible voters cast their ballots, an Interior Ministry official said Saturday. Turnout was light because of the absence of conservative candidates.

Reformists had won about three-quarters of the seats in the Feb. 18 polls, but the hard-line supervisory Guardian Council, which oversees the elections, ordered a recount after losing candidates alleged fraud.

Here in the capital, reformists initially were said to have won 29 of the 30 seats in February, but the Guardian Council delayed endorsing the results for three months, alleging fraud.

The hard-liners oppose the reforms of President Mohammad Khatami, who has eased the social and political restrictions imposed since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.