Tehran, May 29 (IANS): Iranian legislators elected Ali Larijani as the interim speaker of the new Majlis (parliament) on Sunday.

Out of 281 votes, Larijani was elected with 173 votes in favour. The other candidate, Mohammad Reza Aref, who is a reformist politician, won 103 votes, Xinhua news agency reported.

The interim speaker means the election of a chair temporarily for a few days until the lawmakers meet again to elect the final speaker for one year.

Larijani, who was an independent candidate and favoured by the principlist faction in the Majlis, was the speaker of the previous parliaments for several years.

On February 26, Iranians voted in the parliamentary elections, while the results showed the gain of reformists although they could not seize the majority.

According to Press TV, reformists swept the polls in February, winning close to 42 percent of the ballots, followed by principlists with nearly 29 percent of the votes, and independents with 22.41 percent.

The remaining seats went to the religious minorities and candidates endorsed by both reformists and principlists. The lawmakers in Iran are elected for four years.