IRAN: Election polls open, questions linger

Voting began Friday morning in Iran's parliamentary elections, with 45,000 polling stations open for business.

Iran's reformists are out of the picture. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (below) is calling the election a "big national test to increase the dignity and authority of the Iranian nation and Islamic system."

But this election hinges on whether conservatives weary and wary of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's hardline domestic and international policies can muster enough seats to hold sway over his proposals and appointments.

Another question is turnout. Iranian officials place a huge emphasis on getting people out to the polls as a way to bolster the legitimacy of Iran's Islamic system. Results of a recent survey showed that over 60% planned to vote.

Election authorities have barred many anti-establishment candidates from running for office and timed the voting to coincide with the run-up to the Persian New Year holidays. One organization, International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, blasted the vote as undemocratic:

[T]he process of vetting candidates fails even minimally to comply with international standards for free and fair elections. Indeed, in excluding for transparently political reasons a vast number of candidates from appearing on the ballot on March 14, the Iranian government’s manipulation of the upcoming elections appears to be even more systematic and arbitrary than in the past.

— Borzou Daragahi in Beirut

Photos: Top, a woman walks past political posters advertising candidates for parliament (Ahmad Halabsiaz / Fars News Agency); Khamenei casts his vote Friday morning (IRNA); Ahmadinejad casting his ballot.