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Last update - 19:46 16/03/2008 Ahmadinejad: Conservative win shows Iran voters rejection of West By Reuters Tags: elections, Ahmadinejad, Iran Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared victory Sunday in parliament elections, saying voters had shown their rejection of the West after conservatives maintained their majority, according to nearly complete results. Conservatives have won an absolute majority with at least 163 of the 290-seats in Iran's parliament and reformists opposing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have 40 so far, state-owned Press TV reported on Sunday. Advertisement Iranians voted on Friday in an election that was expected to keep conservatives in control of the assembly after many reformists, the staunchest critics of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, were barred from running. The English-language satellite channel said four seats had gone to independents. Thirty seats were to be decided in run-off elections after candidates failed to secure enough votes for an outright win. Press TV earlier said the results showed a "landslide victory of over 80 percent" for conservatives in the battle for Tehran's 30-seat constituency. Iran's Interior Ministry, which supervised the vote, has said a final nationwide tally might not come out until Monday. Iranian officials have hailed the election as a victory over the United States, the Islamic Republic's arch-foe, which on the day of voting on Friday called the vote result "cooked". But the European Union, whose main members back the United States in an escalating standoff with Tehran's over its disputed nuclear plans, said the election was "neither fair nor free." The Guardian Council, a body of clerics and jurists, barred many reformists when it screened potential candidates on criteria such as commitment to Islam and the clerical system. The 27-nation EU "expresses its deep regret and disappointment that over a third of prospective candidates were prevented from standing in this year's parliamentary elections," its presidency said in a statement issued in Brussels. 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. Reformists, who seek political and social change, and some conservatives have accused the president of stoking inflation, now at 19 percent, by lavishly spending Iran's windfall oil revenues on subsidies, loans and handouts. "You could have a possibility of some of the conservatives making a coalition with the reformists and making it difficult for the president to pass his bills," one Iranian analyst said. Pro-reform politicians have also rebuked Ahmadinejad for speeches that have kept Iran on a collision course with the United Nations over Tehran's nuclear program. However, Ahmadinejad has won public backing from Iran's top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has endorsed his handling of the nuclear row. Iran's leaders had called for a high turnout as a show of defiance for its "enemies" in the West: "The U.S. was the real loser and it was the Iranian people ... who emerged victorious," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said. Washington has led international efforts to penalise Iran for failing to allay suspicions that it is seeking nuclear weapons. Tehran says its nuclear programme is purely civilian. Related articles: Iran conservatives stay ahead in parliament vote count Iran hardliners likely to win Fri. vote after reformists barred from running Bookmark to del.icio.us   The Chancellor's visit Angela Merkel arrives in Israel to 'open new chapter' in bilateral ties. London paying Netanyahu says PR trip to U.K. wasn't funded by Israeli taxpayer.   1.   Did we really think the reformists could win? 18:30  |  Avrum 16/03/08   2.   I am in shock 18:51  |  leo 16/03/08   3.   Yawn... Zzzzzzzzzz... 19:28  |  Fortuna Benmayor 16/03/08   4.   Cleric Democracy 20:03  |  Firefighter 16/03/08   5.   "CONSERVATIVES" WIN HA..HA..HA 21:54  |  LJF-CANADA 16/03/08   6.   blah blah 21:57  |  zac 16/03/08   7.   To Really Count The Conservatives In Iran! 22:36  |  Yosemite 16/03/08   8.   Conservative win shows election rigging 22:54  |  theolive-branch.org 16/03/08   9.   Well,this means the Crime Syndicate will not dominate the ME ! 23:13  |  lakshmi 16/03/08

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