UNP, SLMC coalition faces slim majority

[TamilNet, Friday, 07 December 2001, 11:03 GMT]
The United National Party won 89 seats islandwide, except the electoral district of Kandy, according to the final results released Friday afternoon in Colombo. The PA got 62, the JVP 12, the Tamil National Alliance 14, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress 5, the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) 2 and the People's Liberation Organisation 1.

There are twenty-nine national seats which are yet to be allocated according to the percentage of votes scored nationwide by each party. Analysts said that when the Kandy results are out and the national seats are allocated the UNP and its ally, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, would have a single seat majority to form and run the government in the Parliament of 225, after they appoint the speaker.

Election officials said that in Kandy the UNP would get seven seats and probably 14 national seats, giving it a total of 110. The JVP will get 2 national seats, making its total strength in Parliament 14.

The PA is expected to get 77 seats with 5 in Kandy and 10 national list seats.