Reformists sidelined as Iran elects parliament

---

TEHRAN, Mar 14 (AFP): Iran Friday 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.
Reformists are only able to contest around half of the 290 seats up for grabs after the Guardians Council vetoed hundreds of their candidates for being deemed insufficiently loyal to the Islamic revolution.
The sidelining of reformists means it will be difficult to use the vote as a barometre of controversial President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's popularity, despite discontent over inflation rates of almost 18 per cent.
Top officials and state media have made every effort to emphasise the importance of a massive turnout to show national unity at a time of mounting tension with the West over the Iranian nuclear programme.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who rushed from an Islamic summit in Senegal to vote, proclaimed that the world had chosen Iran as its "role model and saviour."