Fraud claims taint Sri Lanka poll

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, May 11 (UPI) -- The ruling Sri Lankan coalition Sunday won 20 seats in debut elections in the country's eastern provinces amid claims of fraud and intimidation, officials said.

Official results show a coalition of the United People's Freedom Alliance, led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and the Tamil Tiger break-away party Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal, won 20 seats on the 37-member provincial council, the Indo-Asian News Service reported.

Opposition parties and election monitors say mobs backed by the ruling government intimidated voters and rigged the elections. The monitoring group Campaign for Free and Fair Elections said the election "was not at all free and fair," the news agency reported.

Government officials, however, said the election was peaceful and a "victory for democracy and development."