Iran General Election, Midterm Counts Predict Overwhelming Victory for Anti-American Conservatives

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Reports are emerging that the anti-American conservative faction is expected to achieve a landslide victory in the Iranian general election based on the current interim results. In the Tehran constituency, which reflects public sentiment in Iran, most of the top vote-getting candidates are from the anti-American conservative faction. It is analyzed that the approval rating of the current centrist reformist government led by President Hassan Rouhani has significantly declined.

According to foreign media such as the Associated Press, the anti-American conservative faction is likely to secure a landslide victory in the Iranian general election, which began on the 21st (local time). As of 9 p.m. on the 22nd, the interim tally shows that all of the top 30 vote-getters in the Tehran constituency, which reflects the public sentiment in Iran, are from the anti-American conservative faction.

The candidate who ranked first in votes in the Tehran constituency is Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the former mayor of Tehran, according to the interim results. Ghalibaf, a former Revolutionary Guard general, has run for president three times. If elected, he is considered a strong candidate to become the next speaker of the parliament.

In the 2016 general election, the centrist and reformist factions swept all 30 seats in the Tehran constituency. Out of the total 290 parliamentary seats, the interim results predict that about 178 seats will be won by candidates with an anti-American conservative stance. Iran's Fars News Agency reported on the afternoon of the 22nd that 241 of the 290 seats have been effectively decided, with 191 conservatives and only 16 centrists and reformists.

Accordingly, it is expected that a conservative candidate is likely to win the presidential election scheduled for May next year. The centrist reformist government led by President Hassan Rouhani, who won the 2013 and 2017 elections pledging economic development through negotiations with the West on the nuclear issue, is expected to lose power.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.