Sri Lanka president wins re-election – State TV
Source: BBC
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has won Sri Lanka’s first election since Tamil Tiger rebels were defeated after 25 years of civil war, state TV reports.
Although the final results are yet to be declared, Mr Rajapaksa appears to have won more than half the votes cast.
About 100 armed troops have surrounded the Colombo hotel where his election rival, Gen Sarath Fonseka, is staying.
A government spokesman told the BBC they did not intend to hold Gen Fonseka but were looking for army deserters.
The BBC’s Anbarasan Ethirajan, who is in the same central Colombo hotel as Gen Fonseka and other opposition leaders, says the troops’ presence has created a very tense atmosphere.
A military spokesman said their deployment was a “protective measure”.
Udaya Nanayakkara said that some 400 people had gathered inside the Cinnamon Lake Hotel in the capital.
“We don’t know what is their motive and, as a protective measure, we have deployed troops around the hotel, and people who go in and come out are being checked,” he said.
Gen Fonseka said he feared the troops planned to arrest him if he won the election, a claim denied by officials.
His spokesman, Rauf Hakeem, said the opposition had appealed to the government over what he said were “high-handed tactics” intended to intimidate the opposition.
With nearly 85% of the vote counted, the Elections Commissioner gave Mr Rajapaksa 4.99 million votes to 3.39 million for his rival.
Some 70% of the electorate of just over 14 million turned out to vote.
State-run Rupavahini television reported that the incumbent president had won a “resounding victory”, with a majority of more than 1.8 million votes.
AFP news agency quotes a spokesman for Mr Rajapaksa, Chandrapala Liyanage, as saying: “The president is very pleased and he thanks the entire electorate.”
Under Sri Lanka’s electoral rules, if no candidate wins 50% of ballots cast in the first count, then voters’ second – or even third – preferences are tallied to determine the winner.
The BBC’s Charles Haviland, in Colombo, says it is probably only a matter of time before Gen Fonseka’s team concedes, but the opposition may raise certain objections as to how the election campaign was conducted.
Independent observers have been perturbed by two main elements, our correspondent says, one of which is the amount of violence in the run-up to the election – with most complaints about the perpetration of violence laid at the door of the president’s side.
The other is what monitors say is the misuse of public resources and state media.
State TV in particular gave blanket coverage to Mr Rajapaksa, our correspondent says, with Gen Fonseka more or less a footnote, and public buses were used to ferry around the incumbent’s campaign material.
The government has said it paid for the use of buses and other state resources but the independent election monitoring bodies are not convinced, our correspondent says.
Bitter fight
After a violent and acrimonious campaign, during which four people died and hundreds were wounded, Tuesday’s election was largely peaceful.
But there were serious exceptions, especially in the Tamil-populated north.
In the city of Jaffna, the private Centre for Monitoring Election Violence said there were at least six explosions before and just after voting began.
Later there were two blasts in Vavuniya, the town near the huge camps for people displaced by the war. The organisation said it feared this was a systematic attempt to scare people away from voting.
There were also grenade attacks in the Sinhala-dominated centre and south where the fight between the two candidates has been especially bitter, our correspondent says.
It later turned out that Gen Fonseka had not been able to vote because his name was not on the register.
The two men were closely associated with the defeat of the Tamil Tigers last May but fell out soon afterwards. Gen Fonseka quit the military, complaining that he had been sidelined after the war.
The president’s side accuses the general of courting separatists. The general has accused the president of plotting vote-rigging and violence, something his rival denies.
Both main candidates have promised voters costly subsidies and public sector pay rises.
However, economists say this will make it hard for the country to meet cost-cutting obligations imposed under the terms of a $2.6bn (£1.6bn) International Monetary Fund loan.
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MOKADA FONSEKA BAYADA KO CHANDI KATHA KATU KALAWADDA GO HELD MAN
Fonseka don’t behave like a kid
Face the loss
Army troops are there not for your purpose, it’s to protect and keep our country safe. It is fair to arrest them for not being straight while duty. We had so much of respect for Fonseka for being a part of defeating the terrorists but now your silly decisions made half of the nation disrespect you.
If Fonseka tries to gain attention from everywhere around the world, then i say ARREST FONSEKA TOO!
MAHARAJANENI OBAI APE ANAGATAYA, APE RATA LOKE EHALAMA TENATA GENIYANNA OBA THUMATA PULUWAN.
OBATA BUDU SARANAI.SUBA PETHUM .
MRMRLONG LIVE>
MRMR< MR N BROS DID A SPLENDED JOB
long live mr n dynasty
JOB OFFER MR N CLAN TO FIGHT THE WAR ON TERROR
Atigaru Janadipatithumani obata sadhaa Jaya!
Atigaru Janadipatithumani obata sadhaa Jaya!
Fonseka don’t behave like a kid
Face the loss
Army troops are there not for your purpose, it’s to protect and keep our country safe. It is fair to arrest them for not being straight while duty. We had so much of respect for Fonseka for being a part of defeating the terrorists but now your silly decisions made half of the nation disrespect you.
If Fonseka tries to gain attention from everywhere around the world, then i say ARREST FONSEKA TOO!
His exellency Mahinda Rajapaksha,
We congratulate you for the great achievement you gained as the president of Sri Lanka.
Our kind request from you to stop all the corrutions you have done for the fast four years and develop the country. Make Sri Lanka the besr country in south asia.
Dayaratne Bandara.
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
when the things go wrong do not jump up you all stupid guys,there are more things to happen,sf was a great hero, i respect him good luck in the future
After all this is the true Fonseka. Now the entire universe knows about him. This is the guy who comes from the heaven to establish good governance in Sri Lanka. Is that why he keep army deserters with weapons?
Corruption was there all over the world and Sri Lanka is not an exception. It was not something the country has experience during last four years. The problems arise when the people who used take bribe did not get there share during last 4 years. Different set people came to govern the terms and take the control. This was not tolerated by the older corrupters and want to enjoy the Jolly good time they had during the UNP and Chandrika’s Governments. This is what they called as the “Wiswasaniya Wenasa” (A change you can trust) All in all when compares with India and Pakistan Still the Sri Lankan situation is better.
Hon, Mahind Rajapaksha is an exceptional leader who rarely appears in a small Country like Sri Lanka and the all the local and foreign traitors want to defeat him at all cost. Most importantly they know that this is their only chance.
Sri Lankan people are intelligent enough to understand the situation clearly and took a wise decision.
sf dont worry we are allways with you..we allready know what happend to you..
god bless you, budusaranai
All the Minorities, business man, educated man, People who living in the city, People who know the economy and bright future, People who dont like for corruptions, people who like the peace and people who know what is the life…. they vote to General Sarath Fonseka.
People who Stupi, Game Ayyala, People who watching only Rupavahini, ITN, People who like corruption, People who dont like peace, People who stupids, people who useless….. they vote to Mahinda Rajapakse.
Totally this is not a independent and democratic country.
This election cannot acceptable, No fair, up side down.
Really really Gen. Sarath Fonseka won all over the Country but Election result been issued under basil rajapakse control.
Mahinda family will be calm until end the Parliment Election if it is held, then they will start to destroy the country and Sri Lanka will be worse than Zimbabwe.
Any way wait and see………. Gamata honda Padamak idiriyata.
Hope of the honest people been collapsed by Mahinda Rajapakse.
Gen. Sarath Fonseka or UNP will guide Lanka with Bright Future soon.
All the world behalf of the true.