Iran votes seen as test for Ahmadinejad

The votes for municipal councillors and members of the Assembly of Experts, in theory Iran's most powerful institution, will show if the president's rivals are regaining popularity even if the results have no direct impact on policy.

Forecasting results in the Islamic Republic is hampered by a lack of reliable opinion polls but several voters in Tehran said they would back candidates close to the president.

"He (Ahmadinejad) has listened to the young, defended our nuclear rights, and traveled to the provinces to solve people's problems there directly," said Ali Damabi, 18, voting in a working-class neighborhood of south Tehran.

Ahmadinejad, the son of a blacksmith who says the government must be more in touch with people, waited in line for about half an hour to vote at a mosque in east Tehran and was swamped by supporters, many of whom handed him notes requesting his help.

Although outranked in power by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ahmadinejad's anti-Western and anti-Israel statements have alarmed the West.

Any indication his popularity is waning is likely to be taken as a welcome sign among Western countries worried Iran is building nuclear arms. Iran denies this.