Casting his vote - Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad joins thousands of his fellow citizens as the country goes to the polls for parliamentary elections.<br/> <br />While the Iranian president looked relaxed, the polls are widely expected to reinforce the power of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.<br/> <br />The two hardline conservative groups have been locked in a fierce power battle since Ahmedinejad challenged Khamenei over a number of policies last year.<br/> <br />No major reformist parties are taking part - they were kicked off the stage after riots following Ahmedinejad's controversial re-election in 2009.<br/> <br />Leaders are hoping a high turnout will ease accusations of fraud in 2009, which plunged the Islamic Republic into the worst unrest of its 33-year history.<br/> <br />Terhran's conservative mayor, Mohammad Bager Qalibaf, seen by some as a possible future presidential contender was another figure casting his vote in Tehran, while former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani - an Ahmedinejad opponent - also cast his vote.<br/> <br />Parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani returned to his birthplace in the holy Shi-ite sity of Qom to cast his ballot.<br/> <br />Members of Iran's tiny Jewish community also turned out to vote in the capital's central synagogue.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE)(Farsi) 19 YEAR-OLD JEWISH VOTER, SHAHIN SOLEIMANI, SAYING:<br/> <br />"This is my first vote. I have come to vote in the parliamentary election so that I can choose my own MP, and not allow others to choose one for me."<br/> <br />The election is unlikely to impact Iran's foreign policies, including its disputed nuclear programme, already heavily controlled by Khamenei.<br/> <br />But it could allow the clergy to strengthen its hand in determining Iran's political landscape in the run-up to presidential elections next year.<br/> <br />Sunita Rappai, Reuters
