Iran's parliament failed to elect two new members to the constitutional watchdog Guardian Council on Saturday, sparking a row that may threaten the inauguration of reformist President Mohammad Khatami.
The mild-mannered cleric was due to take the oath of office for a second term as president tomorrow after winning a landslide victory at the polls in June.
Three legal members of the 12-man Guardian Council were to be chosen by parliament today. But the reformist-dominated assembly only approved one of the six candidates put forward by the hardline Islamic head of the judiciary.
The constitution states that Guardian Council members must be present at the inauguration of the new president.
Conservatives, bitterly opposed to Mr Khatami's campaign to liberalise the Islamic Republic, have argued all the council members must be present.
With two posts still vacant, tomorrow's oath-taking was thrown into some doubt, though reformers insist not all Guardian Council members need to be present for the ceremony to go ahead.
The Guardian Council is made up of six clerics appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and six legal experts elected by parliament from a short-list provided by the judiciary chief, himself appointed by Khamenei.
Charged with ensuring that legislation complies with Islamic Sharia law, the Guardian Council has the power of veto over measures passed by parliament.
Many of Mr Khatami's allies in parliament objected to the nominees, saying they were legally inexperienced and politically biased. It was the first time MPs rejected council nominees since the early years of the 1979 Islamic revolution.