Canada's Liberals win Newfoundland seat in early test for Trudeau

By Randall Palmer

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's Liberals regained a seat in the House of Commons on Monday in a race viewed as an early test of the popularity of the party's new leader, Justin Trudeau, son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

Liberal candidate Yvonne Jones had 50.8 percent of the vote and incumbent Conservative Peter Penashue only 29.1 percent, with 86 of the 91 polls reporting.

The third largest party in the House of Commons, the Liberals have vaulted to first place in national polls since Trudeau won the party's leadership a month ago. He campaigned hard to retake the seat in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, on Canada's Atlantic coast.

"Today we have demonstrated that the Liberal message of hope and hard work is resonating, and that Canadians are tired of the Conservatives' politics of cynicism, division and fear," Trudeau, 41, said in a statement, pledging that the victory in Newfoundland was only the beginning.

Penashue, who had served as intergovernmental affairs minister, resigned in March after it emerged that his campaign accepted illegal corporate donations in the 2011 general election. His campaign also spent more than the C$84,468 ($83,362) limit.

He blamed an inexperienced campaign official for the violations and said he knew nothing about the issues, but the scandal cost the Conservatives their only seat in the province. The Liberals have held it for 58 of the 64 years that Newfoundland and Labrador has been part of Canada.

The results marked the first time the Conservative Party failed to defend a seat between general elections since it was formed as a merger of two rival right-wing parties in 2003.

The Conservatives, led by Stephen Harper, have been in power since 2006. The next federal election is due in October 2015.

Defense Minister Peter MacKay, campaigning on Penashue's behalf, had said that Penashue was guaranteed a seat in cabinet as the only member of Parliament from Newfoundland.

Trudeau, a former teacher, has been in Parliament for less than five years, and his leadership victory reflected both his family name and his personal magnetism. His father was prime minister for all but nine months from 1968-84.

Past efforts by Trudeau on behalf of other candidates before he became party leader had proved less successful, failing to produce Liberal seats in special elections last November or in a similar Toronto area election two years earlier.

Opinion polls for April, the month when Trudeau became party leader, put the Liberals ahead of the Conservatives nationally for the first time since June 2009, with an average 33.4 percent support, compared to 30.2 percent for the Conservatives.

The poll average is compiled by the political blog www.threehundredeight.com.

($1=$1.01 Canadian)

(Reporting by Randall Palmer; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Paul Simao)

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Malaysia ruling coalition leads early poll results

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia's ruling coalition took an early lead in results for national elections Sunday after a record number of voters cast ballots, with some choosing to extend the coalition's 56-year rule and others pressing for an unprecedented victory by an opposition that pledges cleaner government.

Prime Minister Najib Razak's National Front coalition captured 25 parliamentary seats while opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's three-party alliance seized 13 in the earliest results released by Malaysia's Election Commission. At least 112 of the 222 parliamentary seats at stake are needed to win federal power.

Many of the seats won so far are in the National Front's traditional rural strongholds in Borneo, where Anwar's alliance was hoping to make major inroads to bolster its chances of winning.

The National Front has triumphed in 12 consecutive general elections since independence from Britain in 1957, but it was facing its most unified challenge ever from an opposition that hoped to capitalize on widespread allegations of arrogance, abuse of public funds and racial discrimination against the National Front.

Initial counting showed the opposition retained strong support in urban constituencies, especially in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's biggest city, and was almost certain to retain control of northern Penang state, one of Malaysia's wealthiest territories.

More than 10 million Malaysians cast ballots for a record turnout of 80 percent of about 13 million registered voters, the Election Commission said in preliminary estimates.

Some people lined up for more than an hour at schools and other voting centers, showing off fingers marked with ink to prevent multiple voting after they had finished.

The National Front held 135 seats in the 222-member Parliament that was dissolved last month. It is anxious to secure a stronger five-year mandate and regain the two-thirds legislative majority that it held for years but lost in 2008.

"The government has made some mistakes but the prime minister has made changes and I believe they (the National Front) will do their best to take care of the people's welfare," said Mohamed Rafiq Idris, a car business owner who waited in a long line at a central Selangor state voting center with his wife and son.

Andrew Charles, a Malaysian businessman working in Australia, flew home to vote for the opposition because he believes it can end corruption and mistrust between the Malay Muslim majority and ethnic Chinese, Indian and smaller minorities.

"I am really fed up. There are more abuses in the system and there is no equality among the races. After 56 years, it is time to give others a chance to change this country," he said after voting in a suburb outside Kuala Lumpur.

Najib says only the National Front can maintain stability in Malaysia, which has long been among Southeast Asia's most peaceful and wealthier countries.

"Your support is paramount if we are to keep to our path of development, if we are to continue our journey toward complete transformation," Najib said in a statement to voters. "This election is about fulfilling promises, bringing hope and upholding trustworthiness."

Many political observers believe the race will be tight, with the National Front potentially edging out Anwar's alliance partly because of its entrenched support in predominantly rural districts.

The opposition is likely to retain control of at least two of Malaysia's 13 state legislatures and should perform well in urban constituencies where middle-class voters have clamored for change.

If the opposition wins, it would mark a remarkable comeback for Anwar, a former deputy prime minister who was fired in 1998 and subsequently jailed on corruption and sodomy charges that he says were fabricated by his political enemies. He was released from jail in 2004.

"We stand today on the brink of history," Anwar said in a statement. "Sunday's election will mark the decisive step in an amazing, peaceful, democratic revolution that will take Malaysia into a new era."

The opposition is worried about electoral fraud, saying the National Front was using foreign migrants from Bangladesh, the Philippines and Indonesia to vote unlawfully. Government and electoral authorities deny the allegations.

The National Front's aura of invincibility has been under threat since three of Malaysia's main opposition parties combined forces five years ago. In recent years the National Front has been increasingly accused of complacency and heavy-handed rule.

Najib, who took office in 2009, embarked on a major campaign to restore his coalition's luster. In recent months, authorities have provided cash handouts to low-income families and used government-linked newspapers and TV stations to criticize the opposition's ability to rule.

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Cricket-England slow New Zealand with three early wickets

By Greg Stutchbury

AUCKLAND, March 23 (Reuters) - England's bowlers wrested away New Zealand's momentum in the series-deciding third test by capturing three wickets in a miserly first session on the second day at Eden Park on Saturday.

The hosts, who had resumed well placed at 250 for one, were 312 for four at lunch with Brendon McCullum on 14 and Dean Brownlie on six after England had removed Kane Williamson (91), Ross Taylor (19) and Peter Fulton (136) in the session.

Fulton had dominated the first day's play, scoring his maiden test century and combining in substantial partnerships with Hamish Rutherford (37) and Williamson, and had been key to New Zealand posting a big first innings total.

England's bowlers, who received little assistance on the first day, clamped down on New Zealand's batters in the first two hours of play, allowing just 62 runs in 28 overs. Taylor belted 10 of those runs in successive balls off Panesar.

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum was also given out when facing Steven Finn, though it was unclear whether umpire Paul Reiffel had judged leg before or caught behind by wicketkeeper Matt Prior.

McCullum immediately asked for the decision to be reviewed and television showed he had not hit the ball before it cannoned into his pads. Tracking technology then showed the ball would have passed over the stumps.

EARLY LOSS

New Zealand had resumed with Fulton on 124 while Williamson, who was seeking his fourth test century, was on 83.

The 22-year-old quickly moved to 91 with two boundaries down to the vacant third man fence but was caught behind when a James Anderson delivery drew him slightly forward for the ball to catch the edge and carry through to Prior.

Taylor produced a cameo of an innings and when he hit Panesar over midwicket for six and then for four he looked well set to accelerate the innings.

Panesar, however, fooled the former New Zealand captain with a slower delivery and the aggressive right-handed batsman spooned a simple return catch to the left-arm spinner.

Fulton, who batted more than 90 minutes on Saturday for 12 runs, then was well caught down the leg side by a diving Prior off Fin to give England a hint of provoking a collapse.

McCullum was then given out on the second ball he faced, but the decision was overturned and the home side went to the break still well placed to push on in the afternoon.

(Editing by Ian Ransom)

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