Former parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani has managed to win the temporary leadership of Parliament, defeating conservative peer Gholamali Haddad Adel.
Larijani drew 173 out of 275 votes, handily beating Haddad Adel, who is closely linked to Ayatollah Khamenei.
Larijani and Haddad Adel headed the eighth and seventh parliaments respectively.
Under Larijani’s leadership, Parliament had frequent disputes with the executive administration of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The new Parliament opened with Ayatollah Khamenei urging the legislative body to avoid disputes with other branches of government.
Larijani accepted his new mandate, saying Parliament does not seek confrontation with the other branches of government: “Parliament regards itself as an independent institution and a brother of the other branches; but a powerful brother, not a servile one.”
He added that the new Parliament must avoid diversions into minor issues and must “choose its priorities carefully” among such crucial issues as economic pressure and sanctions from the “enemies”, nuclear negotiations, and developments in the Arab countries.
The ninth Parliament opened yesterday with conservatives holding most of the seats. The vote for the permanent head of Parliament and the presiding board will be held later.
