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Ahmadinejad Looses Power in Iranian Mid-Term Elections

The allies of Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, were unable to attain victory in the elections held in the Islamic Republic during the weekend. First results made public Sunday, showed that the first elections to the local authorities and the country`s Assembly of Experts held since Ahmadinejad was elected in June last year haven`t gone as well as he may have wished. The voting rate was 60%, considered low in Iran, and many political analysts say it will not have much effect on Iranian policy. Yet, this indicates that the Iranian people may want a more moderate government than the ultraconservative government led by Ahmadinejad.

The international community is concerned with Ahmadinejad`s recent comments against the United States, Israel and the West, which only intensified the worries of Iranian plans to attain nuclear weapons, despite the country`s constant denial. "The results show that voters have learnt from the past and concluded that we need to support ... moderate figures," the daily Kargozaran said in an editorial. The paper is considered close to former Iranian President, the Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who is a moderate cleric. Iranian media says he is in the lead for the Assembly of Experts. Rafsanjani lost to Ahmadinejad in the last elections.

The Iranian Assembly of Experts is a highly powerful body in Iran, more powerful than the parliament and president. It supervises the activities of the Iranian religious leader, the grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is the most influential person in Iran.