220 secure Iran parliamentary seats

The Iranian Interior Ministry announced 220 winners of the Friday elections in Iran after ballot counting in 205 out of 207 constituencies ended on Monday.  According to the ministry, ballot counting has ended in 205 out of the total 207 constituencies and 220 candidates have reserved a seat for themselves in the next parliament, while candidates in more than 15 constituencies should attend a runoff round of elections. In Tehran, former Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel is still at the top of the list of the 30 candidates who can win a parliament seat from the capital. In addition to Haddad Adel, Seyed Alireza Marandi, Mohammad Hassan Abutorabi Fard, Morteza Aqa Tehrani, Seyed Massoud Mir Kazzemi, and Bijan Nobaveh could open their way to the parliament, while others could not win, at least, one-fourth of the votes cast in Tehran on Friday and should take part in the runoff elections later this year, the announcement said, but meantime reminded that ballot counting in Tehran has not yet ended. The final results of ballot counting in all constituencies will be announced later today. Iranians from different walks of life came to the polling stations in large numbers on Friday to determine the fate of the country\'s legislative body for the next four years. Over 48 million Iranian voters were eligible to cast their ballots, and initial estimates showed that at least 65 per cent of them were present at polling stations.