The last annual internal vote in Tehran City Council to pick members of its presiding board was held Tuesday and Mehdi Chamran was reelected as chairman. In the contest for the top post, the principlist Chamran, who has won the competition 11 times, achieved another victory, although narrowly, with 16 votes in his favor, out of 31, IRNA reported. Reformist Ahmad Masjed-Jamei, a former chairman, was the other hopeful who got 14 votes. The remaining ballot was blank. Morteza Talaei, former Tehran police commander, was reelected deputy chairman of the body with 17 votes. The term of the incumbent city council ends next year, when general elections for city councils will be held on May 19, concurrent with the presidential poll. Tehran City Council elects the mayor and approves the annual budget for the Tehran Municipality.
