Iranians will vote on April 25 in the second round of parliamentary elections to decide the final make-up of their new parliament, with conservatives set to retain control, officials said Monday.
Iran's embattled reformists had already been severely handicapped in the elections by the mass disqualification of hundreds of their candidates in pre-election vetting by hard-line bodies. According to Iran's election rules, candidates require at least 25 percent of the vote to be elected automatically, failing which they have to contest a second round.
Conservatives took 19 of the 30 seats available for Tehran. Twenty-two leading candidates, including some reformists, who failed to reach the minimum percentage are eligible to contest the run-off for the remaining 11 seats. Reformist ex-president Mohammad Khatami and the head of the reformist National Confidence Party, Mehdi Karroubi, have called for a recount of votes in Tehran.