Candidates affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards looked on course to win a parliamentary majority on Saturday, reportedly leading in the race in Tehran and across the country.
The Interior Ministry said a list of candidates affiliated with the Guards led in the capital. An unofficial tally by Reuters shows hardliners have so far won about 178 seats in the 290-seat parliament, independents 43 and moderates 17.
In some constituencies, where candidates failed to get 20 percent of votes cast on Friday, a run-off will be held in April.
A clean sweep for hardliners would confirm the weakening of the country's pragmatist politicians after Washington's decision to quit a 2015 nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions in a move that stifled rapprochement with the West.
However, Iranian authorities have yet to announce the turnout in the race for the 290-seat legislature – a test of the popularity of hardliners closely associated with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who on Friday said voting was "a religious duty."
Turnout was 62 percent in the 2016 parliamentary vote and 66 percent of people voted in 2012.
The Guardian Council, a hardline vetting body, disqualified 6,850 hopefuls out of 14,000, ranging from moderates to conservatives, from contesting parliament polls.
A polling station in Tehran, Iran, February 21, 2020. /Reuters
Khamenei accuses foreign media of using virus to 'discourage' voters
Khamenei on Sunday accused foreign media of trying to use a deadly outbreak of coronavirus in Iran to "discourage" people from voting in the election.
"This negative propaganda began a few months ago and grew larger approaching the election and in the past two days, under the pretext of an illness and a virus, their media did not miss the slightest opportunity to discourage people from voting," said Khamenei.
"(Our enemies) are even opposed to any election by the Iranian people," the leader was quoted as saying on his official website.
The COVID-19 outbreak has claimed the lives of eight people in the Islamic republic since Wednesday. They were the first deaths in the Middle East. A total of 43 confirmed cases have been announced.
Iranian authorities have ordered as a "preventive measure" the closure of schools, universities and other educational centers in 14 provinces across the country from Sunday.
(With input from Reuters, AFP)