11.   Erakat said that Arafat would nominate a nine-member election commission and a five-judge panel to oversee election preparations and resolve any disputes.

12.   He met the ambassadors of Britain, Australia, Germany and China to discuss election preparations.

13.   He also said the government had delayed granting visas to the others, preventing them from monitoring some phases of the elections preparation.

14.   He said other important issues included election preparations in Cambodia, the problem of Prince Norodom Ranariddh and the ceasefire, which affects Thailand directly.

15.   Hrair Balian told a news conference that the government had delayed granting visas to the observers, preventing them from monitoring some phases of the elections preparation.

16.   Monday, Lissouba reportedly asked parliament to extend his term by three months to allow more time for election preparations.

17.   Recent violence has also clouded election preparations.

18.   Three prisoners were recaptured, but police said they were scaling back the manhunt because they were busy with election preparations, Gong said.

19.   However, police were scaling back the manhunt because they were too busy with election preparations.

20.   As part of election preparations, Noorani said, the alliance would start holding rallies this month.