The top winner of the recent parliamentary polls in the capital Tehran said factions in the next parliament should arrive at a common understanding that allows them to work effectively.
Mohammad Reza Aref made the statement in an interview with ISNA on Sunday, while the two major rival groups in the polls, namely the reformist-government backer alliance and principlists, are campaigning to muster greater support among new lawmakers to form strong parliamentary blocs.
The election winners of the two sides held separate meetings on Saturday, in preparation for the formation of their Majlis factions.
Aref addressed the meeting of the winners included in the List of Hope, a joint list of candidates linked to reformists and allies of President Hassan Rouhani, while sitting Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani gave a speech at the principlist meeting.
The two rounds of the vote for the 290-member house were held in 207 constituencies across 31 provinces on February 26 and April 29.
The total returns suggest the List of Hope has secured a simple majority in the next house, putting an end to 12 years of absolute principlist dominance in the Majlis.
According to ISNA, 120 winners were included in the List of Hope, while 83 seats belong to principlists and independents won the remaining.
It should be noted that figures are approximate, due to the lack of a formal party structure in Iran.
In Tehran, the biggest and most important constituency, the List of Hope won a sensational victory and swept all the 30 seats
. Majority Faction to Decide on Speaker
Asked to comment on media speculations over his rivalry with Larijani for the house leadership, Aref said 290 members of the assembly should decide about the management of the parliament.
“Of course, factions will have an important role to play,” he said.
Aref, who also heads the Reformist Policymaking Council, said when the factions took shape, the dominant one would decide who will be the next Majlis speaker.
“We hope the statutes of the factions will be finalized by next week and the presiding boards will be formed to let consultations begin on the chairmanship of the next Majlis and the post of speaker,” he said.
Recently-elected lawmakers of the two fronts joined the meeting of their respective camps, but some participated in both gatherings. Some independent legislators also attended the meetings.
Although there are no formal figures on the number of participants in the two meetings, Alireza Yousefian Molla, a recently-elected principlist lawmaker, said at the end of their meeting that 154 lawmakers had attended and 27 others could not come but expressed readiness to join the bloc.
This is while the pro-reform Sharq daily reported on Sunday that 156 election winners took part in the meeting of pro-government forces.
Since both sides failed to gain the outright majority of the parliament, independents will decide the final weight of the two factions.
The closing session of the current parliament will be held on May 24 and the new parliament will convene on May 28.
