Iran’s interior minister on Monday announced a second round of parliamentary elections in April in several key cities, including the capital, after candidates in a number of consituencies failed to reach the necessary vote threshhold to be elected. Under the Iranian electoral system, a candidate must receive at least 25 percent of the votes to be elected. In Tehran, the largest constituency in Iran, only five of 30 pre-selected candidates received enough votes. Several seats in large cities such as Mashhad, Shiraz and Abadan also remained undecided. A date for the second round has not yet been set.
Interior Minister Mostafa Najjar announced in a news conference that 225 candidates have been elected. At stake as voters went to the polls Friday were all 290 seats in the Majlis, or parliament.
While Najjar did not comment on the winners, the majority are individuals who support Iran’s leaders. Analysts said they are likely to criticize President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but not impeach him — for now.
Full Article: Some Iran parliament candidates to face second round of voting – The Washington Post.