THE VALLEY, Anguilla (AP) - Hundreds of citizens lined at polling stations Monday to elect a new government for their tiny British Caribbean territory.

Seven seats in the House of Assembly were up for grabs, with a record 25 candidates running in the territory of 13,000 residents and 7,500 eligible voters.

The ruling Anguilla United Front party was seeking to expand its four-seat majority to one, campaigning on recent infrastructure projects, including a US$25 million expansion of the airport.

Four opposition parties - the Anguilla United Movement, the National Strategic Alliance and the Anguilla Progressive party - each fielded four candidates. The rest are independent.

"I feel extremely good and am confident that my party has a fair chance of constituting the next government," said Edison Baird, the leader of the Strategic Alliance party.

Baird has accused the government of not being transparent enough in explaining the benefits of its infrastructure projects for ordinary citizens.

Chief Minister Osbourne Fleming has insisted five year-old government's projects - including the country's first 18-hole golf course and plans for a US$175 million luxury hotel - will create jobs.

Opponents have also criticised tax concessions granted to the luxury hotel's parent company, New York-based Flag Luxury Properties.

"The record of the Anguilla United Front Party and the development it brought to the island in the past five years speaks for itself and deserves another term in government," Fleming said.

Also at issue was the territory's relationship with Britain. Many Anguillans, including Fleming, support the need for constitutional and electoral reform to give the island more autonomy.

Former Chief Minister Hubert Hughes, of the United Movement party, has advocated reducing the Britain-appointed governor's powers, which include overseeing foreign affairs.

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