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Khatami allies win run-off elections

Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Tuesday, May 9, 2000

NICOSIA [MENL] -- Allies of Iranian President Mohammed Khatami fought off a crackdown by the ruling clergy and won two-thirds of the 66 parliamentary seats in run-off elections.

Many of the run-off elections were decided by a panel controlled by the conservative clergy that annulled the results of February elections. The move was followed by a crackdown on supporters of Khatami in the media.

But on Saturday, preliminary results reported that 43 additional reformist candidates aligned with Khatami had won seats in the 290-member parliament. Candidates aligned with Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei won 10 seats. Independents were reported to have won the remaining 13.

The results, however, must be certified by the Guardian Council. The new parliament is scheduled to convene on May 27 and so far, the council has refused to approve the results in Teheran, in which reformers won 29 out of 30 seats.

"Statements made by the right-wingers show they understand they must say goodbye to their monopoly on the pillars of power," said Mohammad Reza Khatami, the president's brother and head of the reformist coalition that ran in Iran's capital.

The Teheran-based Iran Daily said on Saturday that the runoff elections continue the trend of the Feb. 18 parliamentary elections. "It is now accepted that pragmatism should also be attributed a place in political activism. perhaps, the very concept of reform has helped certain political think tanks enhance their theoretical knowledge of politics," the newspaper said.

Meanwhile, Teheran has reiterated that it will not succumb to international pressure regarding the trial of 13 Jews accused of spying for Israel. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi rejected a warning by U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright that Iran faces renewed isolation if the Jews are convicted.

"This is not legally acceptable," Asefi said.

Tuesday, May 9, 2000

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