Both Sides Claim Iran Elex Wins | CBS

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Both Sides Claim Iran Elex Wins

TEHRAN, Iran, Feb. 21, 2004


Iran's conservative Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei votes in
national parliamentary elections in
Tehran. (Photo: AP)

(AP) Islamic hard-liners and reformists both claimed victory in Iran's elections Saturday, with returns showing conservatives ahead in the race for parliament but a reformist boycott limiting voter turnout.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the winner of the election was the Iranian nation. He was upbeat about voter turnout, even though it marked a drop from previous elections.

"The loser of this election is the United States, Zionism and enemies of the Iranian nation," he told state media.

A reformist who called for a boycott, Ali Shakourirad, pointed to a voter turnout of less than 30 percent in the capital, Tehran, calling the poll was "a big defeat for conservatives."

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