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BBC World News just reported President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suffered a major defeat in Tehran and major cities in local elections.
Iran's moderate former President Akbar Hashemi
Rafsanjani has won election to Iran's powerful
clerical body, the Assembly of Experts.
With more than half the votes counted, Mr Rafsanjani, who was defeated in the 2005 presidential election, had a clear lead at the top of the list.
The election – and simultaneous local polls – was seen as a test of support for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Early results suggest liberals and moderates have regained some influence.
LATEST NEWS (AFP):
Ahmadinejad allies trail in Iran vote battlegrounds
Update [2006-12-18 14:15 PST by Oui]
TEHRAN (CBS/AP) Dec. 18 — Ahmadinejad’s list has suffered a decisive defeat nationwide,” said the Islamic Iran Participation Front, the largest reformist party. “It is a big no to the government’s authoritarian and inefficient methods.”
In some cities such as Shiraz and Bandar Abbas, not one pro-Ahmadinejad candidate won a council seat, according to partial results announced by the Interior Ministry.
In Tehran, candidates supporting Mayor Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf, a moderate conservative, were on track to win seven of 15 council seats. Reformists were set to win four, while Ahmadinejad’s allies had three, partial results showed. The last seat was likely to go to an independent.
Similar anti-Ahmadinejad sentiment was visible in a parallel election for members of the Assembly of Experts, a body of 86 senior clerics that monitors Iran’s supreme leader and chooses his successor.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."