COLOMBO, April 4 (Xinhuanet) -- The group of Buddhist monks who were elected into the Sri Lankan parliament in Friday's parliamentary elections are to stay neutral in conducting their affairs, a senior monk said Sunday.

    "We want to stay neutral. Our mandate was based on our principal to stay neutral." said Venerable Uduwe Dhammaloka, one of the newly elected legislators.

    The group representing the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) or the National Heritage Party surprised the voters with a strong performance and is expected to finish with seven seats in the 225-member assembly.

    They campaigned on a theme of establishing a righteous society based on Buddhist principles in this majority Buddhist nation.

    With both the main contenders, the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) led by President Chandrika Kumaratunga and the United National Party (UNP) led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, finishing well short of the 113 simple majority inparliament needed to form a government, the monks find themselves in the envious position of being king makers.

    The JHU sources said that the UPFA, who won the Friday's election, has made overtures to the monks to join it in forming the next government.

    The UPFA is expected to form a minority government by Sunday evening, the party sources said.

    The new parliament will meet for the first time on April 22. Enditem