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High turnout in Lankan polls

AFP, Colombo
Sri Lankans turned out in large numbers yesterday for parliamentary elections called to resolve a power struggle between the president and the prime minister that has cast a shadow over faltering attempts to end ethnic bloodshed.
The main contenders, President Chandrika Kumaratunga's Freedom Alliance and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's United National Party, said they were generally satisfied with the vote, while police said it went off peacefully.
Election officials said the final turnout figures were yet to be worked out, but initial reports suggested about 75 percent of the electorate had cast ballots, maintaining the island's reputation for high voting.
The first results are expected at around midnight, but the final party positions are not expected to be known before midday today.
Wickremesinghe, who was one of the first to vote, expressed hopes of returning to power to pursue his internationally-backed negotiations with Tamil Tiger rebels.
"I am certain people will vote for peace," he said at a voting booth near his home. "I am confident of securing a majority of seats."
However, most opinion polls have pointed to a hung parliament with neither Wickremesinghe's UNP nor Kumaratunga's Alliance winning an outright majority.
Kumaratunga called the election after she clashed with Wickremesinghe, accusing him of conceding too much in talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) guerrillas.
Police said there were no reports of major violence in the island.
"We have only a few minor
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incidents reported," said Jayantha Wickremaratne, deputy Inspector General of Police. "We have got the assistance of the army to help us with mobile patrols and in manning road blocks."
During campaigning for the 2001 parliamentary vote, at least 41 people were killed and 700 wounded. This time round only five election-related deaths were reported.
The island was tense in the election run-up, however, after V. Muralitharan, better known as Karuna, led a split in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who have been battling since 1972 for a separate Tamil homeland.
In the island's embattled north, a Tamil politician complained that supporters of Tamil Tiger rebels attempting to rig voting.
The Tigers are not contesting the election but have openly backed the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which is expected to fare well and emerge as kingmaker following a close fight between the leftist Alliance and the rightwing UNP.
Kumaratunga, who voted at her home district of Gampaha, outside Colombo, said she had taken steps to ensure a fair election.
"Every one of you can go to the polls without fear and freely use your precious vote, she said in a message broadcast yesterday.
Voting was not taking place in rebel-held northeast areas but authorities set up booths near the de facto front lines, officials said. The Tigers had arranged to bus in voters from their areas to vote.