Chandrika's party ahead, hung parliament likely

Chandrika's party ahead, hung parliament likely
AGENCIES

COLOMBO, OCTOBER 11: Sri Lanka's ruling People's Alliance has won a clear victory in the parliamentary elections, capturing 109 of the 225 seats at stake, the state radio said today, quoting an unspecified study of the results.

It said the main Opposition United National Party (UNP) had won 90 seats while the remaining were shared by the leftist People's Liberation Front, minority Tamil parties and other groups.

The figures announced by the government radio were different from official results released by the Election Commissioner which showed the PA winning 78 and the UNP 64 of the 157 seats declared.

``The Election Commissioner has not confirmed that (radio) result. They are still counting in some areas of Kandy. I can't comment until the official results are released,'' said UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The Election Commission has announced that the final results would be delayed by a day amid reports of widespread rigging. Dayananda Dissanayake, who heads the Commission, said the final outcome of Tuesday's election would be announced tomorrow after he held talks with leaders of political parties on allegations of fraudulent voting. ``I have had to annull the poll in the entire district of Kilinochchi (in the island's North) and 22 centres in the South of the country,'' Dissanayake said. ``I will announce the final results tomorrow. Please be patient.''

Analysts were predicting a hung parliament with President Chandrika Kumaratunga's PA emerging as the single largest party but falling short of an absolute majority. This may lead to horse-trading after the elections were marred by murders, bombings and rigging.

Tuesday's vote was a key test of Kumaratunga's plan to end the country's 17-year ethnic war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in which more than 61,000 people have died.

In Sri Lanka's complex electoral system -- a mix of direct voting and proportional representation -- the number of polling divisions won does not translate into parliamentary seats. Seats are allocated according to the percentage of total votes polled by a party in larger electoral districts.

``The parties are going to be shopping around for possible political allies. Sri Lanka is probably heading for a minority government rather than a coalition as smaller parties may prefer to offer support on issues from outside,'' said Ketesh Loganathan of the Centre for Policy Alternatives, an independent think-tank.

He said both the UNP and the PA were likely to be more comfortable with minority parties as partners rather than the JVP due to its leftist inclination and past history.