Lanka may be heading for more trouble

At the root is the feud between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who are at loggerheads over Oslo-backed attempts to end war with Tamil Tiger ethnic rebels.

The two once played together as children and share privileged backgrounds -- Kumaratunga is a daughter of two prime ministers and Wickremesinghe is a nephew of the country's first executive president.

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Now, however, they have little in common. The president, who is elected separately, called elections nearly four years ahead of schedule after sacking the legislature controlled by her rival. She accused him of conceding too much to the Tigers.

She is hoping that her alliance in January with the Marxist JVP, or People's Liberation Front, will allow her to topple Wickremesinghe's right-wing party, but opinion surveys point to a hung assembly.

Political scientist Jayadeva Uyangoda says the election is unlikely to settle the power struggle and the country could see prolonged instability.

In an election where the two main parties are neck-and-neck, the minority Tamils could hold the balance of power. They lean towards the prime minister's party although there are no guarantees of actual support.

However if Wickremesinghe forms the next government, Sri Lanka would be back to square one as far as the cohabitation crisis is concerned. Wickremesinghe plays down fears of constitutional gridlock after the April 2 vote.

"The president has gone to the people asking for a new mandate," Wickremesinghe told AFP last week. "When people give us that mandate, she has no option but to work with my party."

He accused Kumaratunga of turning their rivalry into a personal feud when there were pressing issues confronting the country.