Clear majority eludes PA

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 June 1999, 11:34 GMT]
The ruling People's Alliance (PA) failed to secure a clear victory in the elections to the southern provincial council . The party won 25 seats in the 55 member provincial legislature according to results which were announced this morning. The PA was given two bonus seats under Sri Lanka's election system. The main opposition United National Party (UNP), won 21 seats and the radical Marxist party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), secured 7.

An armed policeman checks the handbag of a voter at the entrance of a polling booth in Ambalangoda.Photo:AP

The JVP has again emerged as the crucial third force in Sri Lankan politics.

The PA will need its support to run the southern provincial council.

The PA won eleven seats in the Galle district, eight in the Matara district and six in the Hambantota district.

The UNP got nine in Galle, seven in Matara and five in Hambantota.

Analysts in Colombo said the results show that the PA can win in 18 of the 21 electorates in the southern province at elections to the Parliament due next year if it sustains the same degree of support among the voters of the region.

The JVP got no less than 2500 votes in all the electorates of the province.

The southern province was the scene of a bloody insurrection led by the JVP in 1988-90. The region is considered a stronghold of the Marxist group.