Millions of Iranians voted in high-stake elections on Friday that could shift the balance of power within the hardline-controlled Islamic elite by ushering in a reformist comeback or help conservatives tighten their grip on power.
There were early signs of enthusiastic participation in the first polls since a nuclear deal last year led to a lifting of sanctions and deeper diplomatic engagement abroad.
Long queues formed at polling stations in the capital and state television showed throngs of voters in Ahvaz and Shiraz. It was unclear how the turnout might shape the outcome.
“Whoever likes Iran and its dignity, greatness and glory should vote. Iran has enemies. They are eyeing us greedily,” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said after casting his ballot.
At stake is control of the 290-seat parliament and the 88-member Assembly of Experts, the body that has the power to appoint and dismiss the supreme leader, Iran’s most powerful figure. Both are currently in the hands of hardliners.
Control of parliament will influence the ability of moderate President Hassan Rouhani, constrained so far, to deliver on his promises of greater freedoms and economic reforms.
The Guardian Council, appointed half by Khamenei and half by the ultra-conservative judiciary, disqualified thousands of candidates. That included Hassan Khomeini, the moderate grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution and Khamenei’s predecessor.
As the day went on, Iranians waited patiently in long lines outside polling stations to cast ballots, with whole families coming together with their young children.
Rouhani said the government would spare no effort to protect people’s votes and ensure healthy and legitimate elections, the official IRNA news agency reported.
While reformists saw a high turnout as an opportunity for change, conservatives said it showed widespread popular support for the Islamic Republic’s political system -- and perhaps by extension the status quo.
Influential former president Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, allied to Rouhani, said Iranians knew this was a day of destiny.
Vote counting will start on Friday evening and some small constituencies could declare on Saturday morning, an electoral official said. Full results are expected early next week.
But it could take longer to get a clear picture of who has come out on top, as the numerous small parties and independent candidates form alliances and declare their allegiance.
