This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/8191031.stm

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Sri Lankan post-war poll closes Upset in Sri Lanka post-war polls
(about 3 hours later)
The first elections in Sri Lanka since the civil war ended in May have been held in the Tamil-dominated north. Initial results from the first post-war elections in northern Sri Lanka show the governing party has taken Jaffna, the region's biggest city.
The government has described the votes in Jaffna and Vavuniya, as well as in the southern province of Uva, as a step towards normality in the country. But it suffered a surprise defeat in Vavuniya, the other town where polling took place, where a group supportive of the defeated Tamil Tiger rebels won.
However, independent journalists were prevented from covering the poll and turnout was low. Ballots are still being counted in the southern province of Uva.
It comes after officials said on Friday they had arrested the new head of the defeated Tamil Tiger rebel group. Turnout was low. Correspondents say people felt the vote took place too early, with thousands still displaced.
Selvarasa Pathmanathan was detained abroad and was being questioned in Sri Lanka, it said. The rebels have confirmed the arrest. The local elections came a day after the defence ministry said it had arrested the new head of the Tamil Tigers, Selvarasa Pathmanathan.
No voting cards Mr Pathmanathan was detained abroad and was being questioned in Sri Lanka, it added. The rebels have confirmed his arrest.
Voters in the two towns of Jaffna and Vavuniya had a choice between a broad government coalition, the main opposition party, which is weaker, and an umbrella group supportive of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Low turnout
Smaller parties also competed, including a moderate Tamil group contesting Jaffna. According to preliminary results, President Mahinda Rajapaksa's governing United People's Freedom Alliance, won control of Jaffna city council in Saturday's election, securing 13 of the 23 seats available.
Voting was reported to have been smooth, though there were small scuffles in Vavuniya, one reportedly involving a government minister. The Tamil National Alliance, a fractious but broadly pro-LTTE parliamentary grouping, came second with eight seats.
Turnout was low - about 18% in Jaffna and nearer 50% in Vavuniya. Turnout was only 20%. Monitors said one problem had been that many people did not receive voting cards, for reasons that are unclear. Refugees were also required to apply to vote.
The BBC's Charles Haviland, in the capital Colombo, says that for many the situation is too raw to make voting a priority. But in Vavuniya, where turnout was 52%, the UPFA was pushed into third place, winning only two seats. The TNA came first with five of the 11 seats on the council, followed by a moderate Tamil grouping.
He says one problem has been that many did not receive voting cards, for reasons that are unclear. The BBC's Charles Haviland in Colombo says the result in Vavuniya will be seen as an upset.
One independent monitoring group says people are reluctant to support opposition parties openly, and that most are not very interested in the polling - more worried about the fact that Jaffna is still not open by road to the rest of the island. For one thing, our correspondent says, the TNA had openly said it did not feel this was the right time for elections, with more than a quarter of a million Tamils still detained in nearby government camps and much of the north depopulated.
Intimidation claims And it was generally believed that the government would do well, having a broad coalition led in the north by a powerful and stridently anti-Tiger Tamil party, and having promised a "northern spring" of major development projects that would gradually return the region to normality, our correspondent adds.
Despite its victory in May the government continues to tighten its grip on society and life is far from normal in northern Sri Lanka, our correspondent says. As a result of its victory in the war, the government is expected to have done well in the Sinhalese-dominated southern province of Uva.
Near Vavuniya, more than 250,000 Tamil refugees are stuck in government-run camps which they are not allowed to leave. Voting passed off largely peacefully, although monitors reported scuffles, including one involving a government minister at a camp housing refugees from Jaffna who had been voting remotely.
More than 250,000 Tamil refugees are stuck in government-run camps However, our correspondent says there has not been much chance to scrutinise the conduct of the elections or the campaigns.
Refugees in the north were asked to apply to vote if eligible. Just as it did from the war zone, the government once again kept independent journalists out of the north, and even election monitors said information was hard to come by, he adds.
But only 6,000 have registered, mostly in camps separate from the vast ones in Vavuniya, and it is not clear how much voter education any of them have had.
As a result of its victory in the civil war, the government is very popular in the Sinhalese-dominated south.
It hopes to do well in the north, too, with a coalition including some parties said to be attached to anti-LTTE Tamil paramilitaries.
Barred from Jaffna, it was impossible for BBC journalists to assess claims and counter-claims made during the campaign, including allegations that Tamils had been intimidated into not voting or that parties from both sides had used armed guards.