Conservatives keep control of Iran assembly

By Parisa Hafezi

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian election results on Saturday showed conservatives on course to keep control of parliament, but some were expected to join reformists in flaying President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's handling of the economy.

Conservatives have taken 120 seats in the 290-member assembly against 46 for reformists so far, the state Press TV station reported, citing the Interior Ministry. Four seats had gone to independents and 30 more would go to run-off votes.

The Interior Ministry, which supervised Friday's vote, has said a final nationwide tally might take a day or two.

Many reformists, trying to capitalize on public discontent over inflation, were disqualified from standing in the polls, but they expect Ahmadinejad to undergo sharper scrutiny even in a parliament dominated by their conservative rivals.

"The president will face more challenges with the next parliament than he did with the current one," said Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a close ally of reformist ex-President Mohammad Khatami.

If confirmed, the 46 reformist seats cited by Press TV takes them beyond the 40 or so they had in the outgoing parliament.

But Iran's Fars News Agency gave a slightly different tally for the 170 seats so far decided, saying conservatives had 125 and reformists 35, while independents had 10.

Direct comparison with the previous assembly is complicated by fluid factional loyalties and a large group of independents.

Reformists were upbeat. "We announce with honor that we gained victory in an unequal election," Abdollah Nasseri, spokesman for the reformist coalition, said, adding 70 percent of seats had been "predetermined" for conservatives.

Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi told state TV about 70 percent of seats had gone to "principlists" -- a term conservatives use to describe their loyalty to the Islamic Republic's ideals. He said 178 seats had been decided -- without giving a breakdown -- with 56 going to run-off votes.

The minister said final results for Tehran's 30 seats may not be announced for a day or two. State TV said conservatives were ahead with more than 20 seats after counting about one third of the 2 million votes cast in the city.

SPLIT CONSERVATIVES

"The 'principlist' forces have scored very important victories in all major Iranian cities," said Ali Larijani, former chief nuclear negotiator and Ahmadinejad rival, who won a seat in Qom, a city south of Tehran.

An Iranian political analyst, who asked not to be named, predicted a rougher ride for Ahmadinejad in the next assembly.

He said splits had opened up among conservatives -- who range from Islamic revolutionary radicals, like Ahmadinejad, to his more pragmatic critics -- jockeying for position before the 2009 race for the presidency.