0710 GMT: Parliament Watch. Could this be the most telling signal about Friday's Parliamentary elections? In contrast to the scramble by State and semi-official media to declare a magnificent turnout and to post the results, there is near-silence on those websites this morning.
0650 GMT: Mohammad Davari of AFP offers a breakdown of the seats in the new 290-member Parliament:
Unity Front: 65
Islamic Constancy Front: 25
Joint Unity/Constancy: 61
Other conservatives (possibly the Steadfastness Front): 15
Reformists: 21
Independents: 98
Minorities: 5
The numbers seem to bear out our assessment: "The Supreme Leader's camp has sought a 'mish-mash' of results, with no possibility of a faction or bloc that could exert independence. That has been delivered."
The chatter also supports this, even as each faction in the conservative/principlist kaleidoscope tried to declare a win. Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf's Tehran Emrouz sought the validation, "The elections show clear victory for the United Front."
The pro-Ahmadinejad daily Iran, in contrast, asserted that the Unity and Constancy Fronts would carry "equal weight" in the parliament, with the large number of new lawmakers reflecting voter "discontent over the behaviour of the outgoing Parliament".
And the reformist daily Etemad sticks with the obvious: no one had a majority but "all conservative groups are claiming victory".
Posted via email from lissping
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