The first results from Iran's parliamentary election today showed a split of seats among conservatives, reformists and independent candidates, media reports said, after turnout of around 60 per cent.
Coming just a month after sanctions were lifted under Iran's nuclear deal with world powers, the outcome of yesterday's vote is being seen as a de-facto referendum on President Hassan Rouhani.
A political moderate, Rouhani is hoping his alliance with reformists, called The List of Hope, can curtail conservative dominance of parliament, improving his chances of passing social and political reforms.
Early results, published by the semi-official ISNA news agency quoting electoral officials, suggested no one faction would win a majority.
Out of 27 constituencies - less than 10 per cent of the total - eight went to conservatives, four to reformists and eight to independents, with others set to go to a second round because no candidate won 25 per cent of the vote.
The high number of independent winners could suggest a partial shift away from Iran's sharply factional politics towards the middle ground.
If that trend continues when more seats are declared it may be because voters reacted to the high number of reformist candidates who were not allowed to compete in the elections, a reform-minded analyst said.
"They may have been more inclined to vote for people they know rather than for candidates strictly identified as conservatives or something else on a list," Saeed Laylaz told AFP.
Based on unconfirmed reports, he predicted a strong showing for the List of Hope, comprising moderates and reformists.
"What is for sure is that there will be less conservatives from the hard right in the next parliament. It won't be easy for them," Laylaz said.
Around 60 per cent of voters cast ballots - 33 million out of 55 million eligible voters - the interior ministry said. Polling stations were kept open late yesterday to allow millions of latecomers to participate.
As well as electing 290 MPs the electorate was voting for a new Assembly of Experts - a powerful 88-member committee that monitors the work of the country's ultimate authority, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
There were no results for the Assembly of Experts election by this afternoon.
