TEHRAN, (Reuters) – Iranians voted on Friday in a parliamentary election weighted in favour of conservative supporters of the Islamic Republic’s clerical establishment.

Many reformist opponents of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were barred from the race. But the new assembly might not give him an easy ride, even if conservatives dominate.

Some conservatives, including potential rivals of Ahmadinejad in next year’s presidential election, say he has fuelled inflation by freely spending Iran’s windfall oil revenues. Others blame his confrontational style for triggering a third set of U.N. sanctions against Iran’s nuclear programme.

Reformists favouring more political and social freedom had hoped to capitalise on public discontent about inflation, now at 19 percent. But the vetting process and a government crackdown on dissent have muted their challenge. They may struggle to keep the 40 or so seats they held in the outgoing 290-seat assembly.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack raised questions over Iran’s electoral process. “In essence the results are cooked … in the sense that the Iranian people were not able to vote for a full range of people,” he said.

The authorities, who urged a high turnout to prove to Iran’s “enemies” in the West that the system is popular, extended voting by three hours beyond the original 6 p.m. (1430 GMT) close because of queues at polling stations, state radio said.

As night fell, voters were still waiting in four lines to vote at Hosseinieh Ershad mosque in north Tehran.

Some anti-Ahmadinejad politicians said their informal exit polls suggested the United Front, the most pro-government group of candidates, was doing well in Tehran, where conservatives held 26 of the capital’s 30 seats in the outgoing assembly.

The rising cost of living preoccupied most voters, whose country is the world’s fourth-biggest oil producer. “The economy is the issue. I will vote for those who can sew up the hole in my pocket,” said Ali Mashallahi, a government employee with three children.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who usually stays above the political fray, effectively endorsed Ahmadinejad in remarks published on Thursday and relayed in mobile phone text messages as voters went to the polls. He said Iranians should consider “voting for those who can pave the way for the current government, which is active and willing to serve”.

Shrugging off complaints that the system was stacked against reformists, Ahmadinejad said after voting: “Parliament belongs to the people and it should be a reflection of what they want.”

Some Iranians were not convinced their votes would count.

“Ahmadinejad’s supporters will win again, so why should I bother?” said Farnak, 25, a housewife out shopping.

Reformists, even while arguing the vote is unfair because so many of their candidates are disqualified, have urged Iran’s 44 million eligible voters to deny conservatives an easy victory.

Some of those queueing at the Haft-e Tir polling station at a Tehran mosque echoed that argument. “We have to support reformists. If we don’t vote, their opponents will take more seats,” said Mohammad Ziafati, 62, a retired teacher.

The poll may offer clues to Ahmadinejad’s chances of re-election next year, though analysts say he will need to keep the support of Khamenei and other parts of the state apparatus.

Khamenei, not Ahmadinejad or parliament, has the last word on major policy issues such as the international dispute over a nuclear programme which the West suspects has a military component. Tehran says it aims only to generate electricity.

The president can rely on loyalists like Hassan Siavashi, 45. “It is my religious duty to vote. I pray God will help Ahmadinejad’s group to win,” he said before voting in Tehran.

Bibi Zahra, an elderly woman in a black chador, said she had put her trust in her son’s choice. “I don’t know who I was voting for, he filled in the form for me,” she added.