Friday, 09 January 2015 08:52
Sri Lanka's long-time leader Mahinda Rajapaksa has admitted defeat in the presidential election, his office says.
President Rajapaksa has dominated politics for a decade, but faced an unexpected challenge from his health minister Maithripala Sirisena.
The statement said Mr Rajapaksa would "ensure a smooth transition of power".
Official results are not due until later on Friday, but early results indicated that Mr Sirisena was on course to win the 50% needed.
He has not yet commented.
'Left residence'
Mr Rajapaksa, who was seeking a third term in office, is credited by many with ending the civil war in 2009, when troops routed the Tamil Tigers separatist rebels after more than two decades of fighting.
But rights groups accused both sides in the war of atrocities, allegations the government denies.
Mr Rajakpaksa's press officer said the president "concedes defeat and will ensure a smooth transition of power bowing to the wishes of the people".
He added that Mr Rajapaksa had already left his official residence and the new leader would be sworn in later on Friday.
The BBC's Azzam Ameen in the capital, Colombo, said firecrackers could be heard across the city after Mr Rajapaksa's declaration.
Both Mr Rajapaksa and Mr Sirisena are Sinhalese, the majority ethnic group in Sri Lanka.
They were allies until November, when Mr Sirisena announced his surprise candidacy.
The former health minister had been tipped to gather most of the votes from the minority groups, with whom Mr Rajapaksa is deeply unpopular.
But he also needed a substantial number of votes from the Sinhalese, who have generally backed the long-time president in huge numbers.
High Tamil turnout
Turnout in many areas was above 70%, roughly in line with previous elections, with no reports of major incidents disrupting the voting process.
In Jaffna and Trincomalee, two of the main Tamil strongholds expected to vote against Mr Rajapaksa, turnout was higher than previous national elections.
The build-up to Sri Lankan elections is usually blighted by dozens of deaths, but this year just one election-related death was reported.
Mr Rajapaksa was last elected in 2010 when he defeated his former army chief Sarath Fonseka, who was later jailed on charges of implicating the government in war crimes.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30738671
Friday, 09 January 2015 08:49
EXCLUSIVE: President Rajapaksa leaves Temple Trees
January 9, 2015 06:28 am
Following a brief discussion with Opposition Leader Ranil Wickramasinghe and assuring the smooth transfer of power, President Mahinda Rajapaksa left Temple Trees a short while ago.
President Rajapaksa had left Temple Trees in this manner bowing to the people’s mandate in the presidential election, as the results of the 2015 Presidential Election continue to roll out.
The President had a brief meeting with the UNP Leader this morning, although more than half of election results are still pending.
During the meeting, Rajapaksa has informed Wickramasinghe that he would leave Temple Trees vesting the new President with powers to carry out his official duties.
The results released by the Department of Elections so far indicate a slim lead to Common Candidate Maithripala Sirisena, with just over 51% of the total polled votes.
Voting appeared to proceed without any major incidents on Thursday (January 8) as people formed long lines in Colombo, and turnout was good in Tamil-dominated areas where voting had been poor in previous elections.
The November defection by former Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena turned the race, which Rajapaksa had been widely expected to easily win and thereby secure a third term.
The wider world was watching the historic election, especially since Pope Francis is scheduled to arrive in the country on Tuesday.
Rajapaksa’s popularity had grown immensely after the defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009, ending a 25-year civil war. After his victory in the last election, in 2010, he used his overwhelming parliamentary majority to amend the term limit for the president.
http://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?mode=beauti&nid=29346