Iran Votes Conservatives Expected to Prevail

Iranians voted in elections for parliament and a key clerical body, amid fears of a low turnout and with conservatives expected to tighten their grip on power.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has called for a strong turnout, was the first to cast his ballot, at a polling station in central Tehran, state television reported.

The elections are the first in Iran since widespread protests erupted after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, following her arrest for an alleged breach of the country's strict dress code for women.

Since the last elections, Iran has also been badly affected by international sanctions that have led to an economic crisis.

More than 61 million people out of Iran's 85-million population are eligible to vote for members of parliament as well as the clerics of the Assembly of Experts, the body in charge of selecting Iran's supreme leader.

A low turnout is expected, however, after a state TV poll found more than half of respondents were indifferent about the elections.

Iran's last parliamentary elections in 2020 had a voter turnout of 42.57 percent -- the lowest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran considers the United States, its Western allies and Israel "enemies" of the state and accuses them of seeking to intervene in its internal affairs.

On the eve of the elections, the United States said they would be unfair.

Candidates for parliament are vetted by the Guardian Council, whose members are either appointed or approved by the supreme leader.

They have approved a total of 15,200 candidates, out of nearly 49,000 applicants, to run for seats in the 290-member parliament.