Iran’s Elections: Will Moderates’ Gains Make a Difference?

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

By HALEH ESFANDIARI

Moderates backing Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made significant gains in last week’s elections, winning all 30 of the seats in parliament for representatives from Tehran. Notably, even Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel, a conservative leader and former speaker of parliament, failed to secure a seat from Tehran. Conservatives and independents did better further out from the capital; in some instances, moderates’ successes were due to informal alliances with moderate conservatives. Overall, the results appear to be an electoral endorsement of Mr. Rouhani’s moderate policies: the nuclear deal he reached with world powers and the resulting rollback of economic sanctions on Iran; his receptivity to foreign investment; and his attempts to ease restrictions on Iranians (with limited results so far).

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