Iranians went to the polls last week in the sixth general elections held since the Islamic revolution of 1979. The ballot was the most fiercely contested since the overthrow of the shah, and for good reason: The stakes could not have been higher. Voters knew that a win for reformers could break the religious conservatives' grip on society -- and they gave them that win Friday. Although Iran will not be transformed overnight -- and a radical reorientation is out of the question -- the country is poised to break with the past.

Since all the ballots have to be tallied by hand -- and over 30 million people voted -- final results will not be known until later this week. And since electoral laws require a runoff if no candidate collects more than 25 percent of the vote in a district -- as happened in several of the 290 seats contested nationwide -- the definitive tally might not be available until mid-March. Nevertheless, it is clear that the reformist camp's victory is so overwhelming as to be unassailable.

Recent history had the reformers on a roll going into this election. They first claimed the surprise landslide victory of Mr. Mohammad Khatami in presidential elections in 1997. Last year, they bested conservatives in city and town council elections. Last week's win will now deliver control of the Majlis, or Parliament, and set the stage for Mr. Khatami's re-election next year.