Rajapaske Wins Re-Election in Sri Lankan Presidential Election
January 27, 2010
By: Randi Zung

On January 26, the country of Sri Lanka held its first post-war presidential election since November 2005.  In an article by Times of India, 70 percent of the country’s 14 million registered voters participated in the election.  The election, called by incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaske two years ahead of schedule, was meant to be an easy re-election victory but was complicated when former army chief Sarath Fonseka ran as the opposition after splitting from Rajapaske’s government.  Despite a field of twenty-two candidates, Fonseka and Rajapaske were deemed as the only realistic frontrunners.  According to results released by Sri Lanka’s election commission, Rajapaske won by a large margin with approximately 60 percent of the votes, the New York Times reports.  Fonseka has announced that he refuses to recognize the election’s results and will contest the outcome.

According to AFP, both Rajapakse and Fonseka announced that they expected to win the election.  In addition, the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) reported 150 incidents of violence on election day.  CMEV asserted that the election failed to be free and fair because of all the violent election-related incidents.  The election was also further complicated when Fonseka was barred from voting.  The error is being attributed to the use of the 2008 electoral register, and Fonseka stated that he had submitted all of the necessary paperwork to ensure that he would be registered to vote in this election.  While CMEV stated that Fonseka was still eligible for the presidency, critics are calling for his disqualification.  Dayananda Dissanayake, CMEV’s national coordinator stated: “Not having one's name on the electoral list is not a disqualification.”  However, despite the announcement from the CMEV, Sri Lanka’s foreign minister, Rohita Bogollogama, stated that the government intends to go to court to get Fonseka ruled ineligible, Voice of America reports. 

In an interview with members of the Tamil minority community, one individual stated that he walked approximately four miles to a polling station after scheduled buses failed to show up at a Tamil state internment camp.  BBC News reports that many displaced people did not vote and attributed the low voter turnout to a series of early morning bomb blasts that went off near the Tamil’s camp.  In addition, there were also reports of grenade attacks in areas populated by the majority Sinhalese community.

Sources:
AFP - Sri Lanka votes in tense post-war election

Times of India - 70% voter turnout in Lanka prez polls

BBC News - Bitter rivals vie for Sri Lanka presidency

Voice of America - Sri Lankan Government Disputes Eligibility of Opposition Candidate in Presidential Election

The New York Times - Sri Lanka’s President Wins Re-election but Is Challenged

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