DHAKA: Reformists and moderate conservatives were leading in parliamentary elections according to early results on Saturday, an indication President Hassan Rouhani may face a more friendly house to pursue his domestic agenda.

Early returns from Friday’s polls show that none of the three competing political factions will win a majority in the 290-seat parliament. But reformists seeking greater democratic changes are heading towards their strongest presence since 2004 at the expense of hardliners.

Officials are yet to release early results, but reports in the semi-official Fars and Mehr news agencies and a count conducted by the media show that hardliners are the main losers of the vote.

Friday’s election for Iran’s parliament and a powerful clerical body known as the Assembly of Experts was the first since Iran’s landmark nuclear deal with world powers last year.

Reformists seeking greater democratic changes and moderates supporting Rouhani appear to be cashing in on the lifting of international sanctions the moderate president achieved under last summer's historic agreement.

Nearly 55 million of Iran’s 80 million people were eligible to vote. Participation figures and other statistics were not immediately available, though Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli predicted late Thursday there would be a turnout of 70 percent.

Polls were closed at midnight and officials immediately began counting the ballots afterward. As more ballots were counted, reformists appeared to be on the path to expand their presence from the fewer than 20 they currently hold to a majority with the moderate conservatives and reduce the number of hardliners.

BDST: 1245 HRS, FEB 27, 2016
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