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Tehran: Conservatives claimed victory in Iran's parliamentary election on Sunday, yet the new legislature may still give President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a hard time ahead of next year's presidential poll.
Conservatives have taken 120 seats in the 290-member assembly against 46 for reformists so far, the state Press TV station reported.
That figure excludes Tehran where the conservatives are also enjoying a lead.
The Interior Ministry, which supervised the vote, has said a final nationwide tally might not come out until Monday.
But even if the conservatives' victory is confirmed, analysts said divisions among politicians ranging from radical backers of Ahmadinejad to his more pragmatic critics could widen as they jockey for position before the 2009 presidential race.
Many reformists, who said they did well in view of the odds against them, also said they expect Ahmadinejad to undergo sharper scrutiny even in a conservative-controlled parliament.
"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.
Pro-reform politicians have also rebuked Ahmadinejad for speeches that have kept Iran on a collision course with the United Nations over Tehran's disputed nuclear plans.
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