Thursday, November 17 2005 12:09 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Colombo: The first part of the election will close in the evening after nine hours and the Elections Commissioner's Department said that if violence or rigging marred the polls anywhere, a re-poll would be conducted Saturday(Nov 19, 2005) in those areas.

The final result is expected by mid-day tomorrow (Nov 18,2005) if there is no re-poll.

Residents in the embattled north-east areas, parts of which are controlled by Tamil Tiger guerrillas, said voting was initially slow with few Tamils leaving rebel-held territory to vote.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has not indicated that they support either of the two main contenders but has allowed the Election Commissioner to send buses into their areas to provide transport for Tamil voters to make their way to poll booths located in government-controlled places.

Analysts say that the fortunes of the two front-runners depends on how the LTTE will influence Tamil voters and whether they will cast their ballot at all. With the majority Sinhalese community almost evenly divided between the two main candidates, the minority Tamil votes are expected to swing the balance.

Speculation in local newspapers expected the Tamils to cast a vote for Wickremesinghe who favours Norway-backed peace talks with the rebel LTTE.

The rebels are observing an Oslo-brokered truce with the military which has stopped open warring but is still breached almost daily by killings and other violent incidents. Another significant group, the Tamils of recent Indian Origin are also expected to choose Wickremesinghe in line with a pre-poll pact between the two parties.