Impressive gains by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in heavily handicapped elections to parliament and a religious body are evidence of an isolated nation eager to move from theocracy to a more open democracy, but few expect a sudden shift in power.

Centrists and reformers not only bounced back in a parliament under hard-line control since 2004, but won a stunning 15 out of the 16 Tehran seats in the 88-member Assembly of Experts, which selects Iran's supreme leader.

An unofficial tally by Reuters of first round results for the 290-member Majlis (parliament) show conservatives won about 112 seats, reformers and centrists 90 and independents and religious minorities 29 .

These contests could shape the future of the next generation in Iran, where nearly 60 percent of the 80 million population is under 30 and anxious to reintegrate into the international community and return to world markets following last year's nuclear deal and the lifting of most of the punitive sanctions.

Larijani, a former nuclear negotiator who engineered parliament's support for the deal, won re-election in second place in the Shiite holy city of Qom. He could retain the influential chair in return for backing Rouhani's economic reforms.

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