Iran votes in test for Ahmadinejad

TEHRAN: Iran on Friday voted for a new parliament in the first nationwide elections since a bitterly contested 2009 poll 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, were being boycotted by Iran's main opposition and reformist groups, the leaders of which have been under house arrest for the past year.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cast his ballot with an appeal to all the 48-million strong electorate to also vote 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 superior fealty to Khamenei.

While the outcome will not affect Iran's foreign policy - which is decided by Khamenei -- it was expected to set the political scene for the 2013 presidential election, when Ahmadinejad is to step down after reaching the end of his term limit.

Unlike in the wake of Ahmadinejad's disputed 2009 re-election victory, which the opposition said resulted from voter fraud, no protests were expected in these elections.

But police said they were "fully prepared" for any problems. (AFP)