AP, Tehran :
Candidates backing reform of Iran’s clerically overseen government swept municipal elections in Tehran, taking all 21 local council seats in the country’s capital while moderate President Hassan Rouhani won a second term in office, authorities said on Monday.
Their win in Friday’s election marks the first time reformists have gained total control of Tehran’s municipal council since such votes began in the Islamic Republic in 1999. Iranian media also reported similar big gains for reformists in other major cities.
While their powers are limited to local affairs, the councils represent direct control of governance by Iran’s 80 million people. Having reformists take control signals a groundswell of support for slowly changing the way government works in Iran, while also reflects growing discontent with the country’s hard-liners.
“They are tired from 40 years of conservatives’ management style,” said Soroush Farhadian, a Tehran-based political analyst who backs reformists. “People voted for reformists to make their lives happier.” Municipal councils govern across Iran’s major cities down to its smallest villages, with members serving four-year terms. They choose mayors and decide on budgets and development projects, as well as oversee local cultural and religious activities.
While leaving day-to-day operations to mayors, the councils play an important role in local oversight of municipal activities. In Friday’s election, over 265,400 candidates competed for some 127,600 municipal seats.
In Tehran, Iranian state television reported Monday that Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani, a son of the influential late former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, won more than 1.7 million votes to come in first among the council candidates. Rafsanjani’s vote total surpassed all the votes received in Tehran by hard-line cleric Ebrahim Raisi in his failed presidential bid against Rouhani.
The sweep means reformists can replace Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who had been a presidential candidate before withdrawing to support Raisi. Qalibaf and other Tehran officials had faced criticism in recent weeks over a massive January fire at a historic high-rise that caused the building to collapse, killing 26 people, including 16 firefighters.
Candidates backing reform of Iran’s clerically overseen government swept municipal elections in Tehran, taking all 21 local council seats in the country’s capital while moderate President Hassan Rouhani won a second term in office, authorities said on Monday.
Their win in Friday’s election marks the first time reformists have gained total control of Tehran’s municipal council since such votes began in the Islamic Republic in 1999. Iranian media also reported similar big gains for reformists in other major cities.
While their powers are limited to local affairs, the councils represent direct control of governance by Iran’s 80 million people. Having reformists take control signals a groundswell of support for slowly changing the way government works in Iran, while also reflects growing discontent with the country’s hard-liners.
“They are tired from 40 years of conservatives’ management style,” said Soroush Farhadian, a Tehran-based political analyst who backs reformists. “People voted for reformists to make their lives happier.” Municipal councils govern across Iran’s major cities down to its smallest villages, with members serving four-year terms. They choose mayors and decide on budgets and development projects, as well as oversee local cultural and religious activities.
While leaving day-to-day operations to mayors, the councils play an important role in local oversight of municipal activities. In Friday’s election, over 265,400 candidates competed for some 127,600 municipal seats.
In Tehran, Iranian state television reported Monday that Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani, a son of the influential late former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, won more than 1.7 million votes to come in first among the council candidates. Rafsanjani’s vote total surpassed all the votes received in Tehran by hard-line cleric Ebrahim Raisi in his failed presidential bid against Rouhani.
The sweep means reformists can replace Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who had been a presidential candidate before withdrawing to support Raisi. Qalibaf and other Tehran officials had faced criticism in recent weeks over a massive January fire at a historic high-rise that caused the building to collapse, killing 26 people, including 16 firefighters.
