Mahinda Rajpakse wins reelection, Fonseka vowed to challenge the results in the court
merisarkar news service
New Delhi, January 27, 2010
President Mahinda Rajpksa
Sri Lanka's election commission has declared incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the winner of Presidential election that took place on Tuesday.
However, his main rival, former army chief, Sarath Fonseka has rejected the poll results and vowed to challenge it in the court.
The election commission declared on Wednesday that Mahinda Rajpakse has received nearly 58 percent votes. Whereas his main rival won nearly forty percent votes. Sri Lanka has more than 14 million registered voters and 70 per cent of them cast their ballots yesterday.
This is the first presidential election in the island nation, after the defeat of LTTE that ended 25 year old civil strife in the country.
Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka's state run television Rupavahini has declared president Rajpaksa as the winner much before the formal announcement by the election commission.
General Fonseka called the results outcome of a rigged election. He directly accused President Rajapaksa of plotting to assassinate him and told reporters "They are trying to make me a prisoner".
General Sarath Fonseka
As per International media reports Sri Lankan troops have surrounded a hotel where General Fonseka was staying.
General Fonseka has told the media that his life is in danger and he appealed to the inspector general of police of Sri Lanka to intervene in the matter to allow a safe passage for him.
When reporters asked General Fonseka that that he had struck a deal with the government for safe passage out of the country, Fonseka said he would take 'all the precautions' to survive.
A defence spokesperson said that troops are not looking for General Fonseka but trying to nab the army deserters who might have come to the hotel in the support of the former army chief after the election.
President Rajapaksa and General Fonseka were both proclaimed war heroes for leading the government's decisive victory over Tamil rebels and for eliminating the dreaded guerilla leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran.
General Fonseka decided to run against President Rajapaksa after complains of being sidelined after the war. He quickly won the support of other opposition parties and was fielded as joint candidate by them.
Both sides have accused the other of war crimes and corruption. General Fonseka even went to the length of accusing that President Rajpaksa did not allow the Tamil rebels to surrender and ordered the army to summarily execute them and other war crimes.
Do you think that in today's highly fractured and competitive politics the Parliament will, in near future, be able to function properly and constructively?
