Conservatives poised to win disputed Iran election

10.45am

TEHRAN - Conservative opponents of pro-reform Iranian President Mohammad Khatami seemed poised today to regain control of Iran's parliament and cement their grip on power in an election dubbed unfair by Washington.

With polling extended by four hours beyond the official closing time to allow latecomers to vote, an interior ministry source told Reuters first estimates suggested a reduced but respectable national turnout of between 47 and 52 per cent.

That compares with 67 per cent in 2000 when reformers linked to Khatami swept two-thirds of the parliament seats. Most prominent reformists were banned from running this time by a watchdog panel of unelected hardline clerics.

The mass banning of candidates by the Guardian Council has raised concerns about the legitimacy of the vote in Washington and the European Union, which are also alarmed by new reports suggesting Iran may be pursuing nuclear weapons.

"Candidates have been barred from participating in the elections in an attempt to limit the choice of the Iranian people," US State Department spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters.

"These actions do not represent free and fair elections and are not consistent with international norms."

Iran's clerical leaders and state media had exhorted voters to "slap America in the face" by turning out in droves, seeking to tap a deep vein of nationalism and suspicion of foreign interference among many Iranians.

The main reformist party, led by Khatami's brother Mohammad Reza, and the main pro-reform student movement boycotted the poll. In Tehran, where their support is strongest, the ministry source said turnout was down to 20-25 per cent.

The reformers' predictions of a nationwide turnout of 40 per cent or less appeared to have been dashed. Conservatives had forecast up to 60 per cent but were quick to note that about 50 per cent would be comparable to US presidential elections.

With most reformists barred and a conservative victory virtually assured, Iran's clerical rulers sought a high turnout to endorse the legitimacy of the Islamic system.

Polls closed at 10pm (6.30am Sat NZT) and counting began, but official participation figures and first results were not expected until early tomorrow.

Reuters correspondents around Tehran said many voters had gone to ballots clutching the candidate list of the main conservative Alliance for the Advancement of Islamic Iran, which opposed Khatami's policy of allowing greater political, media and cultural freedom.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, among the first to cast his ballot, said the Islamic Republic's enemies were trying to deter young people from voting.

"You see how those who are against the Iranian nation and the Islamic revolution are trying so hard to prevent people from going to the polls," Khamenei told state television.

The Guardian Council, whose 12 members are all appointed directly or indirectly by Khamenei, disqualified more than 2000 mainly reformist aspirants. A further 1179 contenders withdrew.

A gloomy-looking Khatami voted at the Interior Ministry. In an oblique criticism of a poll he has branded "unfair", he told reporters: "This nation has been defeated many times but continued its path and created surprises."

A conservative majority in parliament would leave Khatami to serve out his final 16 months in office isolated in a state apparatus in which religious hardliners already control the armed forces, courts and supervisory watchdogs.

Conservative-controlled state media pulled out all the stops to boost turnout, broadcasting patriotic songs and old footage of revolutionary marches and mass voting in past elections.

Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, head of the Guardian Council, used the main broadcast Friday prayers sermon to attack the reformist parties and student groups shunning the poll, saying the boycott was "rooted in the palaces of America".

Some reformists say they fear a crackdown after the poll. The closure of two reformist papers this week and an office and website of the main reformist party may be just a foretaste.

Even before the election, hardliners had used their levers of power to stymie Khatami's drive to liberalise the Islamic Republic by encouraging political debate and some relaxation of strict social codes in the oil-producing nation of 66 million.

- REUTERS