Hardliners get 'comfortable majority'

Published February 23, 2004

TEHRAN, Feb 22: Iranian religious conservatives were on Sunday assured of securing a comfortable majority in parliament as the counting of ballots cast in Friday's elections reached the final stages.

The interior ministry said counting was complete in 199 of Iran's 207 electoral districts, many of which return more than one deputy to the 290-seat Majlis.

According to official figures, 194 MPs have been elected and 55 seats will have to be contested in a second round after no single candidate managed to win 25 per cent of votes cast. Of the 194 seats allocated, only around 40 went to reformists, according to a examination of the voting lists. -AFP

Opinion

Editorial

Centre vs provinces
Updated 10 Jun, 2026

Centre vs provinces

The reason the centre finds itself in this position is rooted in its failure to expand the tax net and boost revenues.
Party in crisis
10 Jun, 2026

Party in crisis

THE young KP chief minister must be starting to realise just how thorny a seat he occupies. There has been a flurry...
Varsity woes
10 Jun, 2026

Varsity woes

FINANCIAL crises affecting public sector universities across Pakistan are now having an impact on academic...
Doctor attacked
09 Jun, 2026

Doctor attacked

AN act of reprehensible violence has shaken the medical community. On Saturday, an employee of the Provincial Civil...
AJK flare-up
Updated 09 Jun, 2026

AJK flare-up

The situation started deteriorating after a trader affiliated with the JAAC was reportedly shot in an altercation with law-enforcers.
Fault lines
09 Jun, 2026

Fault lines

THE April 8 ceasefire that halted hostilities between Israel and Iran has encountered its most serious test yet....