Hardliners set to control parliament

ISLAMIC hardliners moved closer to sealing control of parliament yesterday and appeared poised to push aside top opponents in the pro-reform stronghold of Tehran after disputed elections boycotted by liberals.

The conservative bloc a mix of hardliners and others considered loyal to the ruling clerics had won at least 135 seats in the 290-member chamber, according to Interior Ministry figures. Reformers and self-described independents had about 65.

That puts conservatives on the threshold of the 146 seat benchmark to claim a majority. They also were expected to consolidate gains as the vote count progresses. The final tally may not be known until today.

Another key number will be voter turnout, which appeared to range between 40% and 45%, the Interior Ministry said. More than 67% of voters turned out in the last parliamentary elections in 2000 in a pro-reform landslide.

However, state broadcasters continually say turnout will be at least 60% nationwide. This could put the ruling establishment at odds with the reformist-controlled Interior Ministry. A Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said his offices are "under tremendous pressure" from various conservative institutions to artificially inflate the turnout to match the television and radio predictions. However, the official forecast the turnout to be less than 50% around the country and less than 30% in the capital, Tehran.

Meanwhile, election-related violence has claimed at least four lives and injured 16 others in two towns in southern Iran.

In Firouzabad, a town about 620 miles south of Tehran, violence erupted after local election results were announced Saturday evening, said Shah Hasani, an official at the provincial governor's office. "Unfortunately, three people were killed and 15 others injured as a result of clashes between supporters of a losing candidate who believed the election has been rigged."

Hasani said one person was killed and another injured on the day of polling in Nourabab Mamassani, a town in southern Iran.

"A person who tried to clear the stamp from his identity card and vote for a second time was attacked by some people, who belong to a rival ethnic group, and killed," said Hasani.

Reformers urged a boycott after more than 2,400 candidates were banned. For them, the lower the turnout, the more they can claim public backing for their drive to weaken the almost limitless controls of the theocracy. However, conservatives appeared to dominate even in the most liberal bastions. In Tehran, the best-known reformists left on the ballot trailed badly with about half the vote counted. They include Mahdi Karrubi, speaker of the outgoing parliament.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Saturday that the winner of the election was the Iranian nation. He was upbeat about voter turnout, even though it marked a drop from previous elections. "The loser of this election is the United States, Zionism and enemies of the Iranian nation."

However, a reformist who called for a boycott, Ali Shakourirad, pointed to a voter turnout of less than 30% in the capital, Tehran, calling the poll "a big defeat for conservatives".

Conservatives hoped people would ignore the boycott, showing the strength of the Islamic state 25 years after the revolution that ousted the secular, pro-Western shah.

Reformists complained the vote was rigged, and the USA also criticised the disqualification of candidates that included the biggest names in liberal politics.