Iran will hold the second round of the ninth Majlis (parliament) elections on Friday.

In the first round of the elections held on March 2, 225 out of the 290 seats were filled and the fate of 65 others will be decided in the run-off contests with 130 candidates.

According to data available by the local media, loyalists to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and powerful clerics won the majority of about 75 percent in the first round of elections.

On March 3, Iran's Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said that the turnout in the first round of parliamentary elections in the country was more than 64 percent out of some 48 million eligible voters.

Mohammad Najjar said the country's "enemies" invested a lot to discourage people from participating in the elections, but the people disappointed them by the high turnout. There was no independent source to confirm the turnout results.

According to official figures, the turnout in the 2008 parliamentary elections in the Islamic republic was 55.4 percent.

On March 1, Iran's Guardians Council spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodai disapproved of calls that there should be international observers for the elections, saying that Iran considers it disgraceful and "an insult" for the sovereignty of a country which considers itself as independent.

On Wednesday, Khamenei said that the Iranian nation will demonstrate its vigilance and foresight in the parliamentary run- off elections on Friday, according to the state IRIB TV.