"Am I therefore become your enemy,because I TELL YOU THE TRUTH...?"
(Galatians 4:16)

Conservatives Prevail in Iran Vote, but Opposition Scores, Too

TEHRAN-Although conservatives won the majority of the seats in Parliament as expected, critics of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also made a strong showing, according to results released Saturday, suggesting he could face opposition in next year’s presidential campaign.
Mr. Ahmadinejad is expected to seek re-election.Conservatives won nearly 70 percent of the seats in the voting, which concluded Friday. But that group includes many people who oppose Mr. Ahmadinejad’s economic policies. Reformists, who favor more political and social openness, also did relatively well.Mostafa Pourmohammadi, the departing interior minister, said Saturday that 198 of the 290 seats went to the conservatives and 47 to reformist candidates, local news agencies in Iran reported. Reformists control 40 seats in the current Parliament.The Guardian Council, a group of clerics and lawyers who oversee elections, barred many prominent reformists from running. Independent candidates who have not affiliated with any political faction won more than 40 seats. In Tehran, only one of the 30 winners was a reformist.Mr. Pourmohammadi said the results would be final after the Guardian Council confirmed them.Parliamentary elections were held in March, but runoffs were held Friday to decide the fate of 82 remaining seats in Tehran and other parts of the country.Iran’s inflation rate has risen to 18 percent in the past year, leading to criticism of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s economic policies.

As in the days of Noah...