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Iranians vote in general election | Iranians vote in general election |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Voting has begun in Iran's elections, with conservatives expected to win after opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were barred from running. | Voting has begun in Iran's elections, with conservatives expected to win after opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were barred from running. |
The authorities in Tehran have called for a huge turnout in the parliamentary polls, to defy the US and other countries they say are Iran's enemies. | The authorities in Tehran have called for a huge turnout in the parliamentary polls, to defy the US and other countries they say are Iran's enemies. |
But the BBC's Tehran correspondent says many Iranians will choose not to cast ballots because of a lack of choice. | But the BBC's Tehran correspondent says many Iranians will choose not to cast ballots because of a lack of choice. |
The vote will shape Iran's political map ahead of 2009's presidential poll. | The vote will shape Iran's political map ahead of 2009's presidential poll. |
But with such a narrow field, the only question is how seats will be shared out between competing conservatives, says the BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran. | |
Giving up | Giving up |
The reformists seem to have given up the fight after many of their candidates were disqualified on the grounds of alleged lack of loyalty to Islamic values, says our correspondent. | |
It is Iran's eighth parliamentary poll since its 1979 Islamic revolution | |
They made up the bulk of around 1,700 candidates barred from running by Iran's Guardian Council - an unelected body of clerics and jurists that vets election candidates. | |
Analysts expect the poll's real winners to be former members of the hard-line Revolutionary Guards, who could replace the Muslim clergy as the biggest force in the assembly. | |
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could also gain strength if, as forecast, a new younger generation of hard-line loyalists gain positions of power. | Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could also gain strength if, as forecast, a new younger generation of hard-line loyalists gain positions of power. |
The likely effect of a further increase in conservative self-confidence, our correspondent says, will be even less chance of compromise over Iran's nuclear programme, and a yet more assertive foreign policy. | The likely effect of a further increase in conservative self-confidence, our correspondent says, will be even less chance of compromise over Iran's nuclear programme, and a yet more assertive foreign policy. |
Some 4,500 candidates nationwide are running for parliament's 290 seats. | |
It is thought the reformists may struggle to hang on to the 40 or so seats they hold in the assembly. | |
They say the election is unfair but have still urged Iran's 44 million eligible voters to turn out for the country's eighth parliamentary elections since its 1979 Islamic revolution. | |
President Ahmadinejad's political opponents blame him for the three rounds of sanctions imposed on Iran by the United Nations over its nuclear programme. | |
The US, Israel and key Western powers accuse Iran of attempting to build a nuclear bomb, but Tehran insists it is enriching uranium for a civilian energy programme. | |
With polls scheduled to close at 1800 (1430 GMT), turnout is not expected to be much above 50% and pundits say it could be dramatically lower in Tehran. |