1/9Iranians stand in line at a polling station during the parliamentary and Experts Assembly elections in Qom, Friday, Feb. 26, 2016.
Voters in Iran are choosing members to the parliament Friday in the first national election since last year's historic nuclear agreement that lifted some international sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear activities.
2/9Iranian women stand in line at a polling station during the parliamentary and Experts Assembly elections in Qom, 125 kilometers (78 miles) south of the capital Tehran, Iran, Feb. 26, 2016.
Voters in Iran are choosing members to the parliament Friday in the first national election since last year's historic nuclear agreement that lifted some international sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear activities.
3/9In this photo released by official website of the office of Iranian Presidency, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani addresses election officials in Tehran, Jan. 21, 2016.
Voters in Iran are choosing members to the parliament Friday in the first national election since last year's historic nuclear agreement that lifted some international sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear activities.
4/9Iranian voters, left, arrive at a polling station to vote for their country's parliamentary and Experts Assembly elections as election staff receive them in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 26, 2016.
Voters in Iran are choosing members to the parliament Friday in the first national election since last year's historic nuclear agreement that lifted some international sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear activities.
5/9An Iranian woman casts her ballot during elections for the parliament and Assembly of Experts, which has the power to appoint and dismiss the supreme leader, in Tehran, Feb. 26, 2016.
Voters in Iran are choosing members to the parliament Friday in the first national election since last year's historic nuclear agreement that lifted some international sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear activities.
6/9Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani votes in the parliamentary and Experts Assembly elections at a polling station in Qom, Feb. 26, 2016.
Voters in Iran are choosing members to the parliament Friday in the first national election since last year's historic nuclear agreement that lifted some international sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear activities.
7/9Iran's former Parliament speaker Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri fills in his ballot during elections for the parliament and Assembly of Experts, in Tehran, Feb. 26, 2016.
Voters in Iran are choosing members to the parliament Friday in the first national election since last year's historic nuclear agreement that lifted some international sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear activities.
8/9Iranians vote in the parliamentary and Experts Assembly elections at a polling station in Qom, 125 kilometers (78 miles) south of the capital Tehran, Iran, Feb. 26, 2016.
Voters in Iran are choosing members to the parliament Friday in the first national election since last year's historic nuclear agreement that lifted some international sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear activities.
9/9Iranian former vice president and candidate for parliamentary election Mohammad Reza Aref and his wife show their ink-stained fingers after casting their ballots during elections for the parliament and Assembly of Experts, in Tehran, Feb. 26, 2016.
Voters in Iran are choosing members to the parliament Friday in the first national election since last year's historic nuclear agreement that lifted some international sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear activities.
Early returns Saturday from Iran's parliamentary election indicate the country will likely usher in a new era with reformists and moderate conservatives creating a friendly venue for President Hassan Rouhani to pursue his political agenda. The vote for the lawmakers was the first election since the country's nuclear deal with world powers took effect.
The final results of Friday's vote may provide the first clue as to whether key Western proponents of the deal will receive what they hoped for; a more open, moderate Iran.
While Iranians were voting for lawmakers, the outcome of the vote could be interpreted as a comment on the level of support for the policies of Rouhani, who is up for re-election next year. Rouhani has made the nuclear agreement a key objective of his administration.
Polls had been scheduled to close at 6:00 p.m., but remained open later; much later, in some cases. State television showed long lines both in Tehran and in polling places around the country.
Some 55 million Iranians were registered to cast ballots for members of the conservative-dominated 290-seat parliament as well as the 88-member Assembly of Experts. The Assembly monitors the work of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on Iran's foreign policy.
While Iranians were voting for lawmakers, the outcome of the vote could be interpreted as a comment on the level of support for the policies of President Hassan Rouhani, who is up for re-election next year. Rouhani has made the nuclear agreement a key objective of his administration.
Iranians hold their identification cards as they line up outside a polling station at Massoumeh shrine during the parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections at a polling station in the holy city of Qom, Feb. 26, 2016.
Voting for future
Iranian State TV called Friday a “great day for the nation,” as citizens across the country turned out to vote for the country's parliament and the Guardian Council, which selects Iran's Supreme Leader.
State TV showed voters across Iran giving their reasons for their choices. A man with a young child said he was “voting for his children's future,” while an older woman said she wanted to “foil Iran's enemies, who are plotting against the country.”
A correspondent for Iran's Al Alam TV at a major Tehran polling station said turnout was “beyond expectations,” and that “long lines of voters had shown up,” to “express their support for their country and its Islamic system.”
An Iranian woman displays her ink-stained finger after voting in the parliamentary and Experts Assembly elections at a polling station in Qom, Feb. 26, 2016.
Bani Sadr: voters 'apathetic'
Former Iranian president Abolhassan Bani Sadr, who lives in exile in Paris, disputed reports of long lines, telling VOA that voters were “apathetic” in many places.
He says that reports he had received from inside the country indicate that apart from several “showcase” polling stations in the capital, turnout at other places was often no more than several dozen people.
Political analyst Mohamed Ali Mirzani told the TV Iranian electors like to vote at odds to the way foreign countries want them to vote in order to quash threats posed from abroad. He said voters know their participation is important in deciding the fate of their country.
Iranians Vote in Parliamentary Elections
1/11Iranians stand in line at a polling station during the parliamentary and Experts Assembly elections in Qom, Friday, Feb. 26, 2016.
Voters in Iran are choosing members to the parliament Friday in the first national election since last year's historic nuclear agreement that lifted some international sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear activities.
2/11Iranian women stand in line at a polling station during the parliamentary and Experts Assembly elections in Qom, 125 kilometers (78 miles) south of the capital Tehran, Iran, Feb. 26, 2016.
Voters in Iran are choosing members to the parliament Friday in the first national election since last year's historic nuclear agreement that lifted some international sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear activities.
3/11An Iranian man and a woman check the names of candidates from the list before voting for the parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections at a polling station in the holy city of Qom, 130kms south of the capital Tehran, Feb. 26, 2016.
Voters in Iran are choosing members to the parliament Friday in the first national election since last year's historic nuclear agreement that lifted some international sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear activities.
4/11In this photo released by official website of the office of Iranian Presidency, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani addresses election officials in Tehran, Jan. 21, 2016.
Voters in Iran are choosing members to the parliament Friday in the first national election since last year's historic nuclear agreement that lifted some international sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear activities.
5/11Iranian voters, left, arrive at a polling station to vote for their country's parliamentary and Experts Assembly elections as election staff receive them in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 26, 2016.
Voters in Iran are choosing members to the parliament Friday in the first national election since last year's historic nuclear agreement that lifted some international sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear activities.
6/11An Iranian woman casts her ballot during elections for the parliament and Assembly of Experts, which has the power to appoint and dismiss the supreme leader, in Tehran, Feb. 26, 2016.
Voters in Iran are choosing members to the parliament Friday in the first national election since last year's historic nuclear agreement that lifted some international sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear activities.
7/11Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani votes in the parliamentary and Experts Assembly elections at a polling station in Qom, Feb. 26, 2016.
Voters in Iran are choosing members to the parliament Friday in the first national election since last year's historic nuclear agreement that lifted some international sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear activities.
8/11An Iranian woman displays her ink-stained finger after voting in the parliamentary and Experts Assembly elections at a polling station in Qom, Feb. 26, 2016.
Voters in Iran are choosing members to the parliament Friday in the first national election since last year's historic nuclear agreement that lifted some international sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear activities.
9/11Iran's former Parliament speaker Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri fills in his ballot during elections for the parliament and Assembly of Experts, in Tehran, Feb. 26, 2016.
Voters in Iran are choosing members to the parliament Friday in the first national election since last year's historic nuclear agreement that lifted some international sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear activities.
10/11Iranians vote in the parliamentary and Experts Assembly elections at a polling station in Qom, 125 kilometers (78 miles) south of the capital Tehran, Iran, Feb. 26, 2016.
Voters in Iran are choosing members to the parliament Friday in the first national election since last year's historic nuclear agreement that lifted some international sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear activities.
11/11Iranian former vice president and candidate for parliamentary election Mohammad Reza Aref and his wife show their ink-stained fingers after casting their ballots during elections for the parliament and Assembly of Experts, in Tehran, Feb. 26, 2016.
Voters in Iran are choosing members to the parliament Friday in the first national election since last year's historic nuclear agreement that lifted some international sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear activities.
