[Christian Science Monitor] Scott Peterson - Reform-leaning politicians appeared to have broken the four-year grip by conservatives on the Tehran City Council by winning a handful of seats there and on a string of local councils across Iran. The biggest surprise is the support for Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president who was defeated by Ahmadinejad in last year's presidential runoff. Rafsanjani was leading the race in Tehran for the Assembly of Experts, and took almost twice the votes as Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi, seen as Ahmadinejad's spiritual mentor, who came in seventh.
2006-12-18 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive