<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/17/world/middleeast/17iran.html> December 17, 2006 Moderate Ex-President Takes Early Lead in Iran Vote By NAZILA FATHI
TEHRAN, Dec.16 — Early electoral returns on Saturday suggested that a moderate former president, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, had a strong a lead over a conservative opponent in at least one of the elections held Friday.
The semi-official Fars news agency reported that most candidates on the slate led by Mr. Rafsanjani were headed for a victory in the elections for the 86-member Assembly of Experts. Muhammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, the hard-line cleric, had also received enough votes to get elected. Other Web sites reported that Mr. Rafsanjani received far more votes personally than Mr. Mesbah-Yazdi.
Officials close to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad backed Mr. Mesbah-Yazdi, who has often declared his opposition to democracy. "The vote for Mr. Rafsanjani was a clear message showing that the average middle class who came out to vote for him against Mr. Ahmadinejad last year has become stronger," said Saeed Leylaz, a political analyst. "This is because of Mr. Ahmadinejad's radical and wrong policies."
Mr. Rafsanjani lost the election for president last year to Mr. Ahmadinejad in a runoff.
The Interior Ministry said Sunday that the turnout for the double elections held Friday, the local council elections and the Assembly of Experts, was around 60 percent.
That is above the previous figure of 12 percent in 2003 for the local city council elections and 46 percent in 1998 for the Assembly of Experts.
The turnout carries political significance, and the results could suggest whether Mr. Ahmadinejad still enjoys strong popularity or people were casting their votes to protest his policies.
Reformers said they had won a majority in the local councils in at least four cities — Arak, Golestan, Ilam and Bushehr — where the counting had been completed, their Web site emruz.info reported.
Most analysts are expecting the 15-member council in Tehran to be divided among the reformers, the supporters of Mr. Ahmadinejad and supporters of the current mayor, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, also a hard-liner.
But reformers said they feared that the votes could be tampered with by supporters of Mr. Ahmadinejad, who were responsible for supervising the elections. In a statement on their Web site, they warned that if votes were tampered with, "There will be huge costs."
Iran Offers Nuclear Skills
TEHRAN, Dec. 16 (AP) — Iran's president said Saturday that his country was ready to transfer nuclear technology to neighboring countries, Kuwaiti TV reported.
The report said President Ahmadinejad told Muhammad Zefollah Shirar, an adviser to Kuwait's emir, "The Islamic Republic of Iran is prepared to transfer to regional states its valuable experience and achievements in the field of peaceful nuclear technology as a clean energy source and as a replacement for oil." The United States and its European allies accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, which Iran denies
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