Ahmadinejad allies trail in Iran vote battlegrounds

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2006

TEHRAN (AFP) — Ultra-conservative allies of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are lagging in key election battlegrounds after gains by moderate conservatives and a solid reformist showing. Ahmadinejad loyalists trailed in the fight for Tehran city council, well behind moderate conservatives close to the city's current mayor, according to partial results on Monday.

Centrist ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has also sprung a surprise with a landslide win in the election for the Assembly of Experts in Tehran province, thrashing a cleric seen as Ahmadinejad's spiritual mentor. The double vote on Friday for municipal councils and the Assembly of Experts -- the body which chooses the supreme leader -- was seen as the first popularity test for Ahmadinejad since he swept to power...