By: KeerthiMohan
Sri Lanka’s controversial wartime defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa will be the next President after ruling party candidate Sajith Premadasa conceded the hotly contested election on Sunday, marking the return of the powerful Rajapaksa dynasty known for its pro-China tilt, amidst security challenges following the devastating Easter Sunday terror attacks that killed 269 people.
Rajapaksa, 70, defeated Premadasa, 52, by more than 13 lakh votes, the election commission said.
Rajapaksa, who will succeed President Maithripala Sirisena for a five-year term, will be sworn in as the seventh executive president of Sri Lanka on Monday at the ancient north central town of Anuradhapura.
He will be the second member from the Rajapaksa family to become the president. His older brother Mahinda Rajapaksa was president from 2005 to 2015.
Rajapaksa secured 52.25 per cent votes (6,924,255), while Premadasa bagged 41.99 per cent (5,564,239) of the total votes polled. Other candidates got 5.76 per cent votes.
The overall voter turnout at the election was around 83.73 per cent, Elections Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya said.
Following his win, Rajapaksa urged his supporters to “rejoice peacefully”.
“As we usher in a new journey for Sri Lanka, we must remember that all Sri Lankans are part of this journey. Let us rejoice peacefully, with dignity and discipline in the same manner in which we campaigned,” the retired lieutenant colonel said in a tweet.
Rajapaksa had vowed to “restore relations” with Sri Lanka’s top lender, China, if he wins the election, despite international concerns over the island nation’s financial debt to the Asian superpower.
Premadasa, meanwhile, was considered leaning more towards India and the US.
He conceded the presidential election to his rival even before the official results were announced and also stepped down as the Deputy Leader of the ruling United National Party (UNP) with immediate effect.
“It is my privilege to honour the people’s decision and congratulate Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa on his election. I am grateful our citizens who voted for me. I am humbled that you placed your faith in me. Your support has been a fountain of strength throughout my political career,” Premadasa tweeted.
Rajapaksa, who was the defence secretary for 10 years, swept the poll in the Sinhala majority districts, while Premadasa garnered most of the votes from the Tamil dominated north and east and Muslim community, including the tea plantation workers of Indian origin.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Rajapaksa and said he looks forward to further deepen relations between the two nations.
Rajapaksa thanked the people of India and Prime Minister Modi, saying he looks forward to meet him soon “to further our friendly bilateral relations”.
Pakistan President Arif Alvi and his Maldivian counterpart Ibrahim Mohamed Solih also congratulated Rajapaksa.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who cannot be removed unless he steps down, is expected to resign.
It is believed that Rajapaksa, after taking over as the president, would appoint his elder brother and former strongman Mahinda as the prime minister. The current Parliament cannot be dissolved at least before February next year.
(PTI)
