Join in government formation: UPFA

COLOMBO: Maintaining that it would be short of only seven seats for a two-thirds majority in the 225-member Parliament once all the results are officially announced, the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa has invited all parties to join the government in its efforts to develop the country.

The Election Commission has suspended announcement of results from the districts of Kandy and Trincomalee pending re-poll on April 20 in some of the booths from where irregularities were reported. The new Parliament is scheduled to have its first session on April 22. As per the results announced so far, the UPFA has gained 117 seats from 180 electoral divisions. When the full results including Kandy and Trincomalee districts are officially released, the UPFA's number is expected to be around 126. Under the present electoral system, the UPFA would get another 17 seats from the National List giving it a total of 143 seats in Parliament. The UPFA leaders said that for the first time UPFA members were elected from all 22 electoral districts including the north and east.