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| Saturday, 21 February 2004 |
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| Surveys forecast victory for Freedom Alliance A countrywide survey conducted by a joint university panel has indicated that the Freedom Alliance would secure a clear victory at the April 2 General Elections. A Reuters survey of financial institutions also revealed that the Freedom Alliance would win the most number of seats. The university survey forecasts 120 seats for the Freedom Alliance while the UNF is slated to secure 86 seats. The Reuters poll gave a figure of 104 seats to the Freedom Alliance and 99 to the UNF and some of its allies. The university panel comprising 15 intellectuals, including professors, senior lecturers, lecturers and students is now finalising the report, a member of the panel said. They predict that the Freedom Alliance will lead in the Gampaha, Kalutara, Galle, Matara, Hambantota, Digamadulla, Trincomalee, Kurunegala, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Badulla, Moneragala, Ratnapura and Kegalle districts. Meanwhile, according to their survey in Colombo, Nuwara Eliya and Puttalam, the UNF is ahead of the Freedom alliance. There will be a close tussle in Kandy and Matale districts. The five seats in Batticaloa are likely to be equally shared by the Freedom Alliance and the Tamil parties. The Tamil National Alliance is expected to gain a majority in Vanni and Jaffna, according to the survey. Out of the 15 seats in Jaffna and Vanni, the TULF, EPDP and EPRLF are likely to total at least six seats. In the dissolved Parliament, the UNP and its allies had 114 seats while the SLFP and the JVP had 95 seats. The survey forecasts that the TNA would not make much impact on the balance of power to form a government though many people think that the TNA would be the deciding factor in forming a future government. The Reuters survey noted that the TNA was tipped to win a median 22 seats, up from 15 in the outgoing Parliament. There are no other opinion polls on the upcoming elections, but markets have been paying close attention to the outcome, with the stock market and rupee responding swiftly to developments. Twelve banks, research firms and fund managers, both Sri Lankan and foreign-owned, took part in the Reuters poll. They included Commercial Bank of Ceylon, DFCC Stockbrokers, Eagle NDB Fund Management, First Capital, Frontier Research, Hatton National Bank, JB Securities, Standard Chartered Bank and People's Bank. Three other institutions did not want to be identified. |
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