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The Iran parliamentary elections were held on Friday and no one is expecting any shock results. The official results will be known on Wednesday, but already some figures have leaked out, giving an indication of what is to be expected in a couple of days, presumably. The Iran Interior Ministry, for example, has claimed a 60 per cent voter turnout, up from 51 per cent four years ago. This is a surprisingly high attendance as there was great apathy shown among the electorate during the rallies, some of which were held despite the fact they had no candidates standing because they had been banned.
Over 40 per cent of those who applied to contest the elections were barred by the Guardian Council from standing. The council, comprising extreme conservative elements, succeeded in almost eliminating all candidates who expressed reformist or liberal views. Yet despite this blanket ban, early results seem to show that reformists may gain an additional 30 or so seats in parliament, bringing the total up to 70 out of 290. Although these "reformists and liberals" will not have enough sway in parliament to be effective, the strengthening of their position does represent a general discontent among the population with the present leadership.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been losing supporters in recent years as he has concentrated more on grandstanding to the rest of the world on nuclear issues, rather than keeping his promises to the citizens on improving living conditions and employment possibilities. With Iran holding about 10 per cent of the world's oil reserves, it can be fairly said that Ahmadinejad has squandered the country's oil wealth. Iran's population has doubled in the past quarter-century and more than two-thirds are under 30. The younger generation understand what is going on and are beginning to show their discontent.
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