Iran parliament confirms election of speaker for 1 year term

AP , Tuesday 31 May 2016

Ali Larijani
Interim presiding board of Iran's new parliament, bottom, including speaker Ali Larijani, bottom center, take an oath in an open session of the parliament in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, May 29, 2016 (Photo: AP)

Iran's parliament has confirmed the re-election of its long-serving parliament speaker for another year.

The 59-year-old Ali Larijani's election marks an early victory for the moderate conservatives in the new parliament, which convened for the first time over the weekend.

State TV says that in Tuesday's vote, Larijani won 237 votes in his favor, out of 276 lawmakers present in the 290-seat house.

On Sunday, he was voted as interim speaker, pending the verification of the credentials of new parliament members.

Both the moderate conservatives and the reformists, who won a majority in the parliamentary elections earlier this year, support President Hassan Rouhani and the landmark nuclear deal reached last year with world powers.

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