Colombo - A provincial poll in Sri Lanka's Western Province which consists of the capital Colombo and two adjoining districts opened Saturday, election officials said, despite a deteriorating humanitarian situation in the north of the country as government forces keep up their campaign to crush Tamil rebels. Some 3.8 million voters in the Colombo, Kalutara and Gampaha districts started are registered to vote in the elections which commenced at 7 am (0130 GMT) and is scheduled to end at 4 pm.

Voters are choosing 102 members to the provincial council which overseas provincial administration often serves as a stepping stone to parliament.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) , which campaigned on a platform solely based on the military's achievements in liberating rebel-held areas in the north-east, are expected to win, despite a strong campaign showing but the opposition UnitedNational Party.

Rajapaksa has so far convincingly won five previous provincial council elections. Polls in two more provinces are due to be held shortly.

Recapturing areas held by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been the main theme for the UPFA as Rajapaksa prepares to hold early presidential polls nearly two years ahead of schedule in a bid to capitalize on the military victories.

Opposition parties have accused the ruling party for misusing government resources and the state media as well as intimidating opposition supporters.

Results are expected to start come in after midnight and the vote count is due to be completed by Sunday noon.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation of thousands of people trapped in the last remaining rebel-held areas worsens as the Sri Lankan Army vowed to continue its offensive operations again the LTTE, which has been fighting for more than 25 years for a separate state for the Tamil ethnic minority in majority-Sinhalese Sri Lanka. (dpa)