The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) issued the threat even before Kumaratunga could form a government to replace that of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who is expected to step down later Monday.

Wickremesinghe warned fragile peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels were in "serious trouble" as no party had won a majority to form a stable government after the latest elections.

He said Friday's election had created instability and the lack of a majority for any government would pose "serious problems for the peace process as well as everything else.

"At the moment we don't have a stable government and that itself can be a serious problem for the peace process," he told reporters. "There is no way a new government can move forward on the peace process and the economy."

Kumaratunga called the election after dismissing the parliament controlled by her rival, Wickremesinghe, but the results gave her party only 105 seats, or eight short of an absolute majority in the 225-member legislature.

The Tigers who won 22 seats through their proxies, the Tamil National Alliance, said they must be recognised as the sole representatives of Tamils, a demand Kumaratunga's leftist Freedom Alliance had steadfastly refused.

"A clear message has been effectively delivered by the Tamil people, in that the concept of the Tamil homeland, Tamil nationalism and the right of Tamil self-rule should be accepted as the basic aspirations of the Tamil people," the LTTE said in a statement.

The Tamil National Alliance's performance in the polls showed that "the Tamil national problem should be politically resolved on that basis, failing which the Tamil people will fight to establish Tamil sovereignty in their homeland on the principle of self-determination," it added.

The Freedom Alliance had rejected all the key demands of the Tigers, but it was not immediately clear what position it could take after assuming office.

The Tigers said they gained recognition as the "sole representatives" of minority Tamils following the vote which returned a hung parliament where President Kumaratunga was looking for coalition partners.

"The Tamil people have elevated the Tamil national struggle to a noble pedestal so that none could vilify or ignore it," the LTTE said. "We consider this as a major political victory for our freedom struggle."

The LTTE statement on its website made no mention of resuming peace talks with a new government that must prove its majority at the first session of the next parliament April 22.

However, it made it clear a future administration must accept their proposals for an "interim self-governing authority" seeking greater regional autonomy.

Tigers said it was the first time in 27 years that Tamils in the island's embattled northern and eastern regions had voted overwhelmingly for a Tamil party supporting the cause of the Tigers.

The rebels made no reference to a split in their own ranks that may affect the affiliations of the 22 TNA candidates.

Five out of the 22 Tiger proxy victors are said to be loyal to renegade Tiger regional commander, V. Muralitharan, popularly known as Karuna, who holds sway in two districts of the east of the island.

The renegade leader had earlier asked President Kumaratunga to enter into a fresh ceasefire agreement with him to replace the truce accord signed between the main Tiger leadership and Wickremesinghe.

Kumaratunga has already rejected the call.

Karuna has agreed to abide by the ceasefire that has been in place since February 2002, but has warned about threats to its stability.

The election for the 13th parliament since independence from Britain in 1948 was called by the president following differences with Wickremesinghe over the handling of the Norwegian-backed peace process with the Tigers.