Iranians have voted in elections expected to tighten the grip of conservatives on parliament, after a low-key campaign and the mass disqualification of reformist candidates by a hardline vetting body.
The US condemned the elections as 'cooked' after the Guardians Council vetoed hundreds of reformist candidates for being insufficiently loyal to the Islamic revolution.
Officials said turnout was higher than in the last election in 2004, after Iran's leaders called for massive participation to send a message of unity to the West amid mounting tension on the Iranian nuclear programme.
State television throughout the day played patriotic music against a backdrop of pictures of Iran's ancient heritage and long queues of people voting in past elections in a bid to show the importance of the ballot.
Voting was extended by five hours to cope with the extra numbers. The first results are expected tomorrow but those for Tehran will take longer.
A government spokesman said participation should top 60%.
But a US State Department spokesman said the results are 'cooked in the sense that the Iranian people were not able to vote for a full range of people'.
Reformists enjoyed their high point between 2000 and 2004 when they controlled parliament and their champion Mohammad Khatami was president.
But they were left with only a few dozen seats in parliament after the 2004 elections and the hardline Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took over the presidency a year later.
The campaign, which only lasted one week, was a muted affair but turned fractious in its final days when conservatives accused top reformists of harbouring excessively close contacts with foreigners.
Analysts say it is impossible to predict whether Mr Ahmadinejad - who retains considerable support in the provinces - will win the 2009 elections to continue one of the most controversial presidencies in Iran's history.
Compared with other chambers in the region, the Iranian parliament wields a respectable amount of power but its capacities are limited by the unelected Guardians Council, which must approve all legislation.
