TEHRAN

Conservatives are on course for a landslide victory in Iran’s parliamentary elections as figures released Saturday show them winning 195 out of 253 seats.

Reformists have fared poorly and won just 18 seats, while independents secured 40 seats, according to Iran’s elections committee.

The election committee said 171 results were finalized and the rest are likely to be announced Sunday.

There were a total of 55,000 polling stations across the country opened for voters at 8 a.m. local time (0430 GMT).

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among the first voters in the capital, Tehran.

According to official figures, almost 58 million Iranians are eligible to elect candidates from more than 250 parties.

Observers expected low voter participation after Iran’s Guardian Council of the Constitution refused nomination of several candidates, particularly reformist-moderate politicians.

Concerns over the turnout are also connected to the spread of coronavirus in Iran, with five cases and two deaths confirmed this week.

*Writing by Havva Kara Aydin