New opinion polls show Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to be in a strong position following the country’s Feb. 26 parliamentary elections. Among respondents, 81% of pro-Reformist voters and 61% of voters who cast ballots for independents said they voted for pro-Rouhani candidates. What is particularly noteworthy, however, is the broadening of the president’s base. Even among those who voted for the Principlists, half said they selected pro-Rouhani hopefuls. In all, 63% of those surveyed voted for candidates who support the administration, while just 22% voted for Rouhani critics.
The polling results are based on telephone interviews conducted Feb. 15-24 and March 3-13 among representative samples of 1,016 and 1,005 Iranians, respectively, with a margin of error for both polls of +/-3.2%. IranPoll.com, an independent Toronto-based organization, conducted both surveys for the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM).
