41.   UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, meanwhile, in an early press conference, discounted the suggestion, saying the seats are not allocated along religious lines.

42.   Under the plan, additional seats will be allocated for the provincial legislature of the North West Frontier Province, which borders Afghanistan.

43.   Internally displaced Afghans have been allocated six seats.

44.   Complex calculations will be necessary before any trend can be ascertained from the election in which parliamentary seats are allocated on a proportional and on a preferential vote basis.

45.   During the third hearing on Thursday, representatives of the foreign media were also allocated different seats from the first and second hearings.

46.   The organisers will also ensure they can determine which ticket holders are allocated seats at a late stage to aid security.

47.   The total proportional seats will be calculated through a complex formula when all the constituency seats have been allocated.

48.   Under that system, no seats would be allocated for the overseas Afghan refugees he represents, he said.

49.   Mahathir had admitted on Wednesday that he had faced some difficulty in allocating the seats among National Front components.

50.   Shaath said Christians will have three seats allocated, in the districts of east Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Ramallah.