Conservatives set to keep control of Iran assembly

TEHRAN-Iranian election results on Saturday showed conservatives on course to keep their grip on 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, earlier 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.
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As in the days of Noah....