Iranian Opponents Leading in Local Elections!

Opponents of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took an early lead in key races in Iran's local elections, including in the capital Tehran.
This was according to partial results announced by the Interior Ministry on Monday.

Those leading are mostly not reformers, but are more moderate conservatives than those allied with the extreme president.

The trend, if borne out by final results, could prove an embarrassment for Ahmadinejad, whose anti-Israeli rhetoric and unyielding position on Iran's nuclear program have provoked condemnation in the West and moves toward sanctions at the UN Security Council.

One political analyst, Mostafa Mirzaeian, said Iran's political lineup was changing in favour of more moderate voices — though he stressed those winning were still within the ruling Islamic establishment.

"Results also show that a new coalition has developed between reformers and moderate conservatives, at the expense of hard-line extremists who support Ahmadinejad," he said.

Your "politically correct" scribe;
Allan W Janssen