Iran conservative rulers term elections as ''remarkable''

Iran's conservative rulers said Saturday that voters handed a decisive blow to reformers by turning out in large numbers and rejecting their appeals to boycott parliament elections.  

Pro-reform groups called the election a sham after more than 2,400 of their candidates were barred from running.  

The Guardian Council said more votes were cast Friday than in the last parliament election in 2000, which had a 67.2 percent turnout.  

The headline in the conservative newspaper Jomhuriya Islami called the voter response "remarkable." The Hamshahri daily wrote of "wide participation."  

Polls were kept open four hours later than scheduled to draw in every vote.  

In Washington, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said Friday that the candidate bans and other recent crackdowns were "reasons for concern."  

© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)