Opposition Wins Parliament Elections

Sri Lanka’s opposition ousted the governing alliance on a promise of peace talks with separatist Tamil Tiger rebels and a freer economy, officials said. The victory came after the worst election violence in the nation’s 53 years of independence.

The three-party United National Front won 129 of Parliament’s 225 seats, against 96 for the governing People’s Alliance and its supporting parties, Election Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake said.

In a reversal of her earlier stance, President Chandrika Kumaratunga invited opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to assume the prime minister’s position.