Iran votes in test for Ahmadinejad

An Iranian woman votes at a polling station in Tehran yesterday. Iran voted for a new parliament in the first nationwide elections since a bitterly contested 2009 poll that returned Ahmadinejad to power, posing a new test of his support among conservatives.Photo: AFP

Iran was electing a new parliament in the first nationwide poll yesterday since a bitterly contested 2009 vote that returned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power, posing a new test of his support among conservatives.
The elections, to fill the 290 seats in parliament, are being boycotted by Iran's main opposition and reformist groups, the leaders of which have been under house arrest for a year.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, casting his ballot moments after polling began, urged a high turnout from the 48-million strong electorate to boost “the future, prestige, security and immunity of the country,” according to state television.
The elections are essentially a struggle between conservatives who back Ahmadinejad and a hardline current that despises him. Each claims stronger fealty than the other to Khamenei.
Unlike in the wake of Ahmadinejad's disputed 2009 victory, no protests were expected in these elections.
But Iran's police chief, Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, said security forces were “fully prepared” to counter any problems.
Final official results of the polls would be announced Sunday or Monday, the interior ministry said.