TEHRAN, Iran — Only a handful of voters showed up at many polling stations in Tehran today in Iran’s parliament elections, a sign of frustration with a vote that hard-liners allied with President Ahmadinejad are expected to dominate.

Where lines formed in the capital, it was at a few major mosques, where most voters backed pro-Ahmadinejad candidates.

Iran’s reformist movement, which seeks democratic changes at home and better ties with the West, was largely sidelined in the race after most of its candidates were barred from running by Iran’s clerical leadership.

With reformists crippled, the race is instead a test of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s support among conservatives, some of whom have been disillusioned with the president since he came to office in 2005. Mr. Ahmadinejad could face a challenge from moderate conservatives in presidential elections next year.

Critics say Mr. Ahmadinejad has fumbled efforts to fix the economy of this oil-rich nation — hit by high inflation and unemployment and fuel shortages. They blame his fiery manner for worsening the standoff with the West, bringing on U.N. sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program.

At polling stations at a few large mosques in southern Tehran, there were lines of 50 to 60 people soon after voting began this morning, with a steady flow of people coming in. Outside, young boys urged passers-by to come in and vote for conservatives.

Many filled their ballots by picking names from printouts of the United Front of Principlists, a slate dominated by Ahmadinejad allies.

A 33-year-old government worker, Mustafa Rajabi, said he voted for backers of the president.

“This is my duty to keep the country stable,” he said, standing with his wife, who wore a black chador robe draped over her head and body, and their two children, who were too young to vote.

But at dozens of polling stations in schools, universities, and other mosques around the city, voters dribbled in slowly during the day, groups of three to five entering from time to time.

Of the few that came in, most supported reformists, bringing in newspaper lists of reformist candidates for Tehran’s 30 seats to check them off on the ballot.

“Many students and activists have been under pressure because of their political activities,” a 22-year-student who showed up to vote for reformists, Reza Kolahroudi, said. “I hope reformists can change the current situation.”

The 41-year-old owner of an advertising company, Mashallah Kinai, said he hoped reformists could “promote a better international image of Iran.”

Some 4,500 candidates nationwide are running for parliament’s 290 seats in today’s vote. But reformists say they don’t have candidates in around 200 of the races.

The Guardian Council — an unelected body of clerics and jurists — disqualified around 1,700 candidates, mostly reformists, on the grounds they were insufficiently loyal to Islam or Iran’s 1979 revolution. The reformist candidates who remain are mostly little-known to the public.

Many reform supporters decided to boycott the vote because of the disqualifications. But reform leaders are pressing them to go to the polls, saying they can get win a strong minority if turnout is strong enough, rather than the handful of seats they now have.

The former president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a powerful member of the clerical leadership seen as a top rival of Ahmadinejad, tried to convince the boycotters to vote.

“To be reluctant and say ‘Why we should participate in the election?’ is a kind of self-destruction,” Mr. Rafsanjani said, according to the state news agency IRNA. “This will lead to the absence of their favorite candidates in the council.”

Mr. Rafsanjani, who lost to Mr. Ahmadinejad in 2005 presidential elections, is a moderate conservative figure, but has grown closer to reformists.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has backed conservatives, saying earlier this week that Iranians should elect anti-American candidates “whose loyalties are to Islam and justice.”

Turnout among the estimated 44 million eligible voters is a key issue. In 2004 elections, which were swept by hard-liners after most reform candidates were barred from the race, turnout was around 51%. In previous votes won by reformists, it was closer to 80%.

Many people were more concerned with shopping, packing malls and shops on main street to prepare for the Iranian New Year, Nowruz, which takes place next week. A shopper, Sherine Faraji, said she might vote in the afternoon after shopping.

“If I get to the polls, I’ll vote for reformists. They don’t bother women,” Ms. Faraji, who wore a tight-fitting jacket and a colorful headscarf that showed much of her hair, said. Conservatives seek to enforce a stricter female dress code covering the entire hair and hiding the body from head to toe.

Reformists held parliament from 2000 to 2004. During that time, they loosened Islamic social restrictions. But hard-liners, who control the unelected clerical bodies whose powers trump the parliament and president, prevented deep political change.

If reformers fail to win a significant minority in today’s vote, it will illustrate the endurance of conservatives’ lock on power, with the clerical leadership able to thwart any reformist comeback.

The key question will be the performance of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s conservative critics, a year ahead of presidential elections.

A strong showing today by the Inclusive Coalition of Principlists — a slate of candidates that includes conservative critics of the president — would be a sign of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s waning support.

The list is seen as linked to Tehran’s popular mayor, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, a conservative often cited as a possible rival to Mr. Ahmadinejad in the 2009 election.

Another key candidate in today’s race is Ali Larijani, who stepped down as Iran’s top nuclear negotiator because of differences with Mr. Ahmadinejad. Mr. Larijani, who is Mr. Khamenei’s personal representative on the Supreme National Security Council, is running for parliament from the city of Qom and has sometimes also been cited as a possible presidential candidate in 2009.