Sri Lanka PM claims victory over ex-strongman in election

Voters swung behind Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP), dashing ex-strongman Mahinda Rajapakse’s hopes of a comeback after his shock defeat in January’s presidential poll.

“The majority of the people of this country have approved the continuance of good governance and consensual politics endorsed by the people through the silent revolution of 8th of January”, Wickremesinghe said in a statement, according to Daily Mirror.

The remaining three districts were dominated by a minority Tamil party, officials said, adding that no party was set to secure an absolute majority of 113 seats in the 225-member parliament following Monday’s election.

In final elections results released on Tuesday, Wickremesinghe secured the highest number of votes received by any candidate and topped his district with over 500,000 votes.

Sirisena had clashed with Rajapaksa, who ran for prime minister on an SLFP ticket, and a political realignment could leave the former president isolated in a rump opposition, as he and his allies face a series of corruption investigations.

Sirisena followed up by suspending over 20 central committee members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, the main constituent party of the UPFA, which both Sirisena and Rajapaksa represent. The president has wide executive powers and usually holds the defence, foreign relations and sometimes finance portfolios.

A planned swearing-in of the prime minister on Thursday had to be put off because Deshapriya is yet to issue a gazette notification declaring a formal conclusion of the election with the gazetting of all elected MPs.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has applauded the people of Sri Lanka for their peaceful and broad-based participation in the parliamentary elections. “We arrested 32 people today for trying to impersonate and for other minor offenses”, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said. Just months before that election, Rajapaksa’s administration ended Sri Lanka’s decades old civil war with an overwhelming military victory over Tamil separatists. But he is accused of using his popularity to take control of all government institutions, including Parliament, the courts and the armed forces.

Rajapaksa had been seeking an extended period of rule after abolishing a two-term limit for presidents when he lost in his attempt to win a third term.