Washington, Feb. 21 (Reuters): Risking a nationalist backlash, the US criticised Iran’s parliamentary elections today as unfair because hardliners had banned many reformist candidates.

“Candidates have been barred from participating in the elections in an attempt to limit the choice of the Iranian people for their government. These actions do not represent free and fair elections and are not consistent with international norms,” state department spokesman Adam Ereli said. Previously when Washington has commented on elections in the Islamic republic, Iranians have perceived it as US meddling and it has hurt the reformists’ popularity.

Hardline clerical leaders played on such sentiment yesterday, telling voters Washington had encouraged a boycott in an election that reformist President Mohammad Khatami has also called “unfair.”