Iran's hardliners win parliamentary run-off vote

Iran's hardline factions have won most of the remaining seats in a parliamentary run-off vote, the Interior Ministry said on Saturday.

Hardliners have secured 233 of 290 seats in Iran's parliament, according to a tally by the Associated Press news agency.

What do we know about the run-off vote?

The "principlist" faction won 10 of 16 remaining seats in the run-off vote in Tehran, with the Coalition Council of Islamic Revolution Forces (SHANA) receiving the remaining six. Both groups are classified as hardline factions.

The majority of the remaining seats in the provinces were also taken by hardline groups.

Most independent and opposition candidates were not allowed to run in the election, with the Guardian Council banning them months before the vote.

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the election saw "good participation" without giving concrete figures.

"All elected people have had a relatively good and acceptable" number of votes, he said.

Election sees low turnout

Turnout in March's election was just under 41%, the lowest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The election was the first since the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in custody in 2022, which sparked mass protests. Amini died after being detained for allegedly failing to adhere to the country's strict Islamic dress code.

In April, Iranian authorities began stepping up street patrols in order to ensure that women were observing the dress code.

Iran has also been impacted by Western sanctions and has grappled with rising tensions with Israel over the war with Hamas.

sdi/ab (dpa, AP)