Iran's Assembly of Experts on Tuesday elected Ayatollah Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani as the new chairman to replace Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. The semi- official Fars news agency said Mahdavi Kani was elected by 63 votes in favor for the next two years. Mahdavi Kani, an influential cleric, was Iran's acting prime minister from September 2, 1980 to October 29, 1981 after the assassination of Prime Minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar. Earlier, Rafsanjani, the fourth president of the Islamic Republic from 1989 to 1997 and also the current chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran, lost his key position as chairman of the Assembly of Experts in its ninth official meeting which was kicked off on Tuesday. The local satellite Press TV reported that Rafsanjani withdrew his candidacy in favor of the conservative Mahdavi Kani. Iran's Assembly of Experts is a deliberative body of 86 Iran's Islamic scholars that is charged with electing and removing the Supreme Leader of Iran and supervising his activities.