1.   Finneran is still the clear favorite and should win on the floor unless his supporters desert him.

2.   Party officials say its longtime supporters deserted the party at the polls because it had abandoned its principles by entering into the coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

3.   There have been reports that some Taliban supporters are deserting to the Northern Alliance, while other reports say the regime continues to enjoy strong popular support.

4.   British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon claimed that some Taliban supporters have deserted since the offensive began, but gave few details.

5.   Left-of-center Laborites trounced the Conservatives in a special parliamentary election early Friday when bedrock supporters deserted the divided and unpopular government in record numbers.

6.   The big loser was the Indonesian Democratic Party, deserted by supporters after the army had pro-democracy leader Megawati Sukarnoputri removed last year as its chairwoman.