Iranians vote in elections as conservatives expected to dominate

TEHRAN - Iranians voted on Friday in elections for parliament and a key clerical body, amid fears of a low turnout and with conservatives expected to tighten their grip on power.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has called for a strong turnout, was the first to cast his ballot, at a polling station in central Tehran, state television reported.

The elections are the first in Iran since widespread protests erupted after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, following her arrest for an alleged breach of the country's strict dress code for women.

Since the last elections, Iran has also been badly affected by international sanctions that have led to an economic crisis.

More than 61 million of Iran's 85 million people are eligible to vote for members of parliament as well as the clerics of the Assembly of Experts, the body in charge of selecting Iran's supreme leader.

A low turnout is expected, however, after a state TV poll found more than half of respondents were indifferent about the elections.

Voting was extended until midnight "due to the vast participation," according to an interior ministry statement. 

Iran's last parliamentary election in 2020 saw turnout of 42.57 percent -- the lowest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.