No official word yet on poll verdict, says Mahinda Rajapaksa

Sri Lanka’s divisive ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa has conceded defeat in Monday’s parliamentary election.

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.

“On August 17, the people of this country exercising their franchise in the parliamentary election confirmed the January 8 revolution and the good governance we have started”, he said.

While he had been bullish about his chances on polling day, Rajapakse’s tone had changed sharply on Tuesday as he accepted his United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) had lost, long before the final results.

“We have won eight districts and the UNP has 11 [out of a total of 22]”, Rajapakse said. “It was a hard fight”.

Sri Lanka’s ruling party won parliamentary elections on Tuesday, making huge gains and strengthening its mandate for reform, although it has fallen short of an outright majority, official results showed.

Electoral authorities said that the vote was orderly, but there were fears that Rajapaksa winning the prime ministerial role could trigger a power struggle with reigning President Maithripala Sirisena, who has said that he will not appoint Rajapaksa regardless of the voting results. “This time too we have lost”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Prime Minister-designate Ranil Wickremesinghe last evening and congratulated him on the victory.

Sirisena also suspended several pro-Rajapaksa lawmakers from his party’s executive committee Monday.

The former president remains hugely popular among sections of the ethnic majority Sinhalese community for the crushing defeat of the Tamil guerrillas in 2009, bringing an end to their 37-year campaign for a separate homeland. Sirisena has vowed not to make Rajapaksa premier even if his UPFA wins a majority.

Jagath Dissanayake, a 40-year-old businessman from the western city of Gampaha, said he voted to continue what he called positive changes that the country has seen since Rajapaksa’s defeat.

United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is expected to take oath as the Prime Minister later today.

A political party or a coalition must have at least 113 seats to be able to form a government.