Voting began in Iran's parliamentary election on Friday, with more than 3,400 candidates competing for 290 seats in the legislative body, dpa reported. According to the Interior Ministry, 48.2 million eligible voters in the country of 74 million people would have a chance to cast their ballots by 1430 GMT. Voting could however be extended by up to four hours. The main race is between the so-called principalists, the conservative faction loyal to the Islamic establishment, and the wing close to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The conservatives blame the Ahmadinejad wing for poor economic policies and for having distanced itself from the Islamic system with nationalistic slogans. A reformist wing is also in the race but seen to have little chance in the election. The hard core of reformists, accused by the establishment as having turned into dissidents, have boycotted the polls citing lack of freedom for all political parties. The outcome of the election is unlikely to change the basic policies of the Islamic state or alter Tehran's uncompromising stance in its dispute with Western powers who suspect it of building a nuclear weapon. But the election is a first test for Ahmadinejad, following his re-election in 2009, in a poll was overshadowed by allegations of fraud that led to street protests. The Interior Ministry has not given a date for the release of a final parliamentary election result but said the process of counting votes has partly been computerized.
