The vote was expected to further marginalize reformers, hundreds of whom were barred from the ballot for their political views by clerics and jurists in the Guardian Council. Reformers were hoping not to slip below the 50 members they now control in the 290-seat parliament. Their standing was weakened by the lack of a galvanizing voice such as that of former President Mohammad Khatami.

Official results are not expected until today, but analysts and government officials predicted a victory for the conservatives. The nation's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had urged Iranians to vote, and officials closely monitored balloting, fearing that a low turnout would embarrass the country internationally and underscore rising dissatisfaction over the government's handling of the economy.

Polls remained open an extra four hours. Recent surveys suggested 60 percent of Iran's 43 million eligible would vote.

The campaign leading to the election revealed a split among political conservatives over the Iranian president. Ahmadinejad's supporters, including ruling Islamic clerics, praise his defiance of the West and his tremendous appeal in the provinces. But others, such as former chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, blame him for what they regard as his overheated rhetoric toward the international community and his inability to solve the country's financial problems despite a surge in oil prices.

"The criticism of Ahmadinejad among the hard-liners started months ago, and this election is a portrait of that," said Nader Karimijori, a political analyst and editor at a conservative newspaper. "They accuse him of economically mismanaging the country. What's happening now is that the divide among the hard-liners will be more visible, more eye-catching."

Many reformers appeared dispirited and anticipated a consolidation of power by hard-liners, although some predicted reformists might win up to 80 seats. Some spent the day deliberating with friends and family, going back and forth between two options: Vote, and give legitimacy to an election many of them saw as unfair, or boycott, and ensure an even stronger conservative domination of the parliament.

In the end, Hesam Javadi, a 30-year-old computer technician, voted.

"We can't stop the rain," he said after casting his ballot for reformists at a north Tehran polling station. "But we can at least put an umbrella over our heads in self-defense."

In Tehran, voting was slow in the morning but picked up after Friday prayers as voters - many perplexed at having to choose 30 candidates out of hundreds - arrived at polling stations with scribbled lists.

"I voted for the conservatives, but so far I'm 50-50 in my support of Ahmadinejad," said Abbass Naderi after voting in one of many green voting buses that wound through neighborhoods. "So far he's not been that successful. The government should be like a father taking responsibility for its failures."