Allies of conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the largest share of seats in the parliament in Iranian poll, almost complete official results showed on Sunday. But he will likely face a more unruly parliament.

Conservative critics of Ahmadinejad won a substantial bloc in the legislature, highlighting the growing discontent with the President’s fiery style and failure to repair the country’s ailing economy.

Washington also said Iran’s leadership had “cooked” the election by barring reformists from running.

Reformists are likely to retain the small bloc they held in the outgoing parliament – if not actually increasing it – prompting their leaders to call a victory in the poll election since most of their candidates were ejected from the race even before it began.

But Iran’s clerical leaders cheered the vote, which preserves the lock conservatives have had on the parliament since 2004.

Moreover, the Interior Ministry reported a turnout of 60 per cent, up somewhat from 51 per cent in 2004 — though not reaching 80 per cent that flooded the polls in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when all the reformists were allowed to run and was swept into power.

Iran’s Supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameni, thanked Iranians for their participation, saying they had turned US attempts to discredit the vote “into a vain bubble.” President Ahmadinejad said the participation “placed the sign of disgrace on the forehead of enemies.”

Inner split

But the differences among conservatives heading to parliament could prove significant. If there is a strong bloc of Ahmadinejad critics, “large disputes will flare up” in the coming parliament, said political analyst Saeed Laylaz. “Ahmainejad will not bow to demands by the parliament, and legislators will change his bills based on their wishes,” Laylaz said.

In 190 of parliament’s 290 seat, pro-Ahmadinejad conservatives who 67 seat, while his conservative critics seized 46, according to results announced by the state news agency IRNA.

Reformists won 30 seats, and 42 winners were independents whose political leanings were not immediately known. Five other seats dedicated to Iran’ Jewish Zoroastrian and Christan minorities have been decided.

Meanwhile, races for about 50 seats will go to a run-off vote set for April. Still unannounced were the results for several large provincial cities – and most importantly, Tehran’s 30 seats.