TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian moderates and reformists who support last year's landmark nuclear deal won the largest number of seats in parliament following runoff elections, marking a shift away from hard-liners and boosting moderate President Hassan Rouhani as he looks to secure a second term in office.
However, the results released Saturday on state television failed to give the moderate-reformist camp an outright majority in the 290-seat chamber. They will likely try to attract support from dozens of independent lawmakers whose political leanings vary depending on the issue.
There were 68 seats being contested in runoff elections Friday in 55 constituencies around the country. The reformist and moderate list claimed 37 seats in the vote, giving them 143 seats in the assembly — just two seats shy of 50 percent. They are followed by hard-liners, with 86 seats, and independents, with 61. Twenty-two hard-liners and nine independents won seats in the runoff.
Seventeen women, 11 who are moderate-reformist, won seats in both rounds of elections.
Deputy Interior Minister Hossein Ali Amiri said turnout in the runoff election was 59 percent, compared with 62 percent in the February elections. Some 17 million Iranians were eligible to vote.
Rouhani could enjoy a boost in popularity heading into next year's presidential elections if the new parliament delivers on his priorities. The outgoing parliament, dominated by conservatives and hard-liners wary of Rouhani's outreach to the West, showed little desire to work with him and frequently summoned ministers to explain alleged transgressions after Rouhani came to power in 2013.
His supporters' failure to achieve an outright majority could complicate the moderate-reformist bloc's efforts to name a parliament speaker, who plays a significant role in getting bills passed or rejected and also serves on several important decision-making bodies, including the Supreme National Security Council.