Ahmadinejad loses home vote

Opponents of Iran8217;s ultra-conservative president won nationwide elections for local councils...

Opponents of Iran8217;s ultra-conservative president won nationwide elections for local councils, final results confirmed on Thursday, an embarrassing outcome for the hardline leader that could force him to change his anti-Western tone and focus more on problems at home.

Moderate conservatives critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a majority of seats in last week8217;s elections, followed by reformists who were suppressed by hard-liners two years ago. Analysts said the President8217;s allies won less than 20 per cent of local council seats across the country. The vote was widely seen as a sign of public discontent with Ahmadinejad8217;s stances, which have fueled fights with the West and led Iran closer to UN sanctions.

Ahmadinejad8217;s anti-Israel rhetoric and staunch stand on Iran8217;s nuclear program are believed to have divided the conservatives who voted him into power. Some conservatives feel Ahmadinejad has spent too much time confronting the West and failed to deal with Iran8217;s struggling economy.

Final results of Friday8217;s local elections announced by the Interior Ministry show moderate conservatives opposed to Ahmadinejad have won a majority of the seats.

The voting also represented a partial comeback for reformists 8212; who favour closer ties with the West and further loosening of social and political restrictions under the Islamic government.

In capital Tehran, candidates supporting Mayor Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf, a moderate conservative, won seven of the 15 council seats. Reformists won four, while Ahmadinejad8217;s allies won three. The last seat went to an Olympic wrestling champion who is considered an independent.

The election does not directly effect Ahmadinejad8217;s administration and is not expected to bring immediate policy changes. The local councils handle community matters in cities and town across the country.

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But it represented the first time the public has weighed in on Ahmadinejad8217;s stormy presidency since he took office in June 2005. The results are expected to pressure him to change his populist anti-Western tone and focus more on Iran8217;s high unemployment and economic problems at home.

Similar anti-Ahmadinejad sentiments were also visible in the final results of a parallel election held to select members of the Assembly of Experts, a conservative body of 86 senior clerics that monitors Iran8217;s supreme leader and chooses his successor.

A big boost for moderates within the ruling Islamic establishment was visible in the big number of votes for former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, who lost to Ahmadinejad in the 2005 presidential election runoff.