Results so far
	Reformers - 86
	Conservatives - 40
	Independents - 36
	Unknown affiliation - 8
	Existing parliament
	Conservatives - 120
	Reformers - 80
	Independents - 70

Election Latest...
(as reported by the BBC-GMT 1800; 20/02/2000)

Results have been declared for about 170 of the 290 seats in parliament, and the Islamic Republic News Agency says about 67% of the winners are reformists supporting the liberal reforms of President Mohammad Khatami. Of the remaining votes, 25% are in support of hard-liners. Other seats have gone to independents and candidates with unknown affiliations.

About 50 seats have gone to a run-off, which will be held in late April.

If the trend continues, reformists will oust hard-liners from the parliament, or Majlis, for the first time since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Attention is now focusing on the vote count in Tehran, where several high-profile candidates are vying for seats.

Late on Saturday, 15 reformers were said to be leading the vote count - among them Mohammad Reza Khatami, the younger brother of President Mohammad Khatami.

Javad Qadimi Zakir, director-general of elections, said the first Tehran results were likely to be known late on Sunday. Unofficial accounts put the former President, Hashemi Rafsanjani, well down the field. There are 838 candidates contesting 30 seats in Tehran.

Violence in south
Although voting was generally peaceful, violence broke out on Saturday in the province of Khuzestan. According to Iran's official news agency, police in the town of Shush Danial used tear gas and fired into the air to quell rioting in protest at the local result. Hundreds of people took to the streets to accuse the winning right-wing coalition candidate, Hassan Sobhani, of bribing the electorate. Reports say crowds attacked government buildings and several banks, hurled stones at policemen and set vehicles alight. About 15 people are reported to have been injured before the disturbances came to an end. Rioting in another town - Shadegan - was brought under control after protesters attacked offices and government vehicles. Reports say that, in both cases, the crowds had been angered by the announcement that the incumbent members of parliament had been re-elected.

Reports say that in another town, Izeh, election officials managed to pacify protesters before there was any trouble. It is not yet clear what were the political affiliations of any of the sets of demonstrators.

Final result could take days

If the reformists repeat their initial successes, they will comfortably achieve their aim of gaining 60% of the national vote. Unofficial reports said they had virtually swept the board in three major cities outside the capital - Isfahan, Tabriz and Mashhad.

However, it is likely to be several days before a fuller picture emerges of Friday's poll, as the ballot papers for the 290-member parliament are being counted by hand. There was a record 83% turn-out, and the process has been complicated by the wide field of reformist candidates.