TEHRAN, Iran — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared victory Sunday in Iran's parliamentary elections, saying the people had voted to reject the West after nearly complete results showed conservatives holding their majority.

But the conservatives are split. Ahmadinejad's hard-line allies won the largest share of the votes, but a powerful bloc was formed of supporters-turned-critics of the president's fiery, confrontational manner and his handling of the ailing economy.

Reformists, who seek greater democracy in Iran and closer ties with the West, appeared likely to at least retain the small bloc they held in the outgoing parliament.

Reform leaders called the results a success, even though their candidates could not run in at least half the races. The unelected, cleric-led Guardian Council disqualified most — including the most well-known candidates — for insufficient loyalty to Islam and Iran's 1979 revolution.

The results will likely mean a stormy parliament for Ahmadinejad if his critics try to force him to change his economic policies or end what even conservatives see as his monopoly on decision-making.

The new parliament also could boost the chances of a conservative challenger emerging to run against him next year when he comes up for re-election. A possible contender is Ali Larijani, a new member of parliament who quit as a top nuclear negotiator after differences with Ahmadinejad.

Despite the differences among the conservatives, they all support the rule of Iran's ruling clerical establishment, led by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.