Iranians vote in run-off parliamentary election

By Parisa Hafezi and Zahra Hosseinian

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranians voted on Friday for Iran's run-off parliamentary election which is likely to have no impact on the conservatives' firm control of the assembly after many reformists were disqualified in the first round.

Conservatives won a majority of seats in the 290-member parliament in the first round of the election in March, but in a number of places no candidates secured enough votes to win -- hence the run-off. Iranians on Friday will cast their votes to elect 82 lawmakers out of 164 candidates in 100 cities, including the capital Tehran.

Moderate opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the vote was unfair because the unelected Guardian Council, which screens candidates on their commitment to Islam and Iran's clerical system, barred many of them from running in March.

Reformists, who secured more than 30 seats in the first round, have called for a high turn out because it would give the opposition a bigger voice. The new parliament will begin work in May.

Parliament does not determine policy in areas such as Iran's disputed nuclear program, oil or foreign affairs. It does, however, have an influence on economic policy.

The country's most powerful figure, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urged Iranians to vote.

"This round is as important as the previous round ... God willing our dear nation ... will vote and a good assembly will be formed," Khamenei said in a live television broadcast, voting shortly after polls opened at 8 a.m. (11:30 p.m. EDT Thursday).

Polling stations are due to close at 6 p.m. (9:30 a.m. EDT), although this has been extended in past elections.

Before the March vote, Khamenei who usually prefers to stay above the political fray, called on voters to favor hardline candidates who supported the government.

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Khamenei has the last word on all state matters including its nuclear program which the West fears is a cover to build nuclear bombs. Iran says it wants nuclear power for electricity.

Ahmadinejad said parliament played a key role in Iran.

"Parliament is very important in creating national unity and making decisions," Ahmadinejad said after voting.

Hardline backers of Ahmadinejad support his no-compromise approach to the nuclear dispute with the West, but reformists and moderate conservatives blame him for provoking the U.N. Security Council to hit Iran with three rounds of sanctions.

Mohammad Yazdi, a 23-year-old civil engineering student, said it was his duty to vote.