Voters in Iran are taking part in elections to choose the 290 members of the legislative¹ chambers², the Majlis.

伊朗选民正在参加议会选举，该选举将产生290名议会成员。

It is the first poll since the 2009 presidential elections, which the opposition³ says were rigged in favour of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The vote is widely viewed as a contest between his supporters and those of supreme⁴ leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The opposition Green Movement is not taking part. Its leaders have been placed under house arrest.

Early on Friday, Iranian TV broadcast images of Mr Khamenei casting his vote in the capital, Tehran.

More than 48 million people are eligible⁵ to take part in the vote, which is taking place at about 47,000 polling stations.

The authorities are urging voters to come out in large numbers, with some posters in Tehran even warning that a low turnout might encourage foreign powers to launch military strikes.

But correspondents say even some of President Ahmadinejad's supporters are quietly calling for a boycott⁶.

Mr Ahmadinejad has fallen out with Mr Khamenei in recent months, and some of his supporters complain that their candidates have been barred from standing⁷.

The respective strength of the different conservative camps after this poll will define the balance of power for what may be a much more important vote - the 2013 presidential election, says BBC Iran correspondent James Reynolds.

However the results of the elections are unlikely to change Iran's stance on its controversial nuclear programme, he adds.

International sanctions imposed over Iran's nuclear programme have been having an effect on the economy.