Feb 2010_Preptalk new.cdr - Student Resources Centre

Rajapaksa wins electionsMajor news storiesFonseka Wants Foreign ProtectionSri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who contestedfor a second term two years ahead of the end of his first,was officially declared elected by the ElectionCommissioner, Dayananda Dissanayake on Jan 27.Mr. Rajapaksa trounced the Opposition consensuscandidate and former Army Chief, retired General SarathFonseka, by a huge margin of over 17 per cent. As per the finalresult notified on the official web site of the island-nation’sDepartment of Elections, Mr. Rajapaksa obtained 6,015,934votes (57.88 per cent) and Gen. Fonseka 4,173,185 votes (40.15per cent). The margin of victory proved the predictions of a closecontest wrong. District-wise results showed that Mr. Rajapaksaretained his enormous rural base and the impact of thecommander- turned-politician was confined to urban pockets,barring Colombo district.A beaming Rajapaksa in his first informal interaction withthe media, outside the office of the Election Commission, saidduring his second stint he would strive for development andreconciliation among the majority Sinhalese and the minorityTamil and Muslim communities as promised in his manifesto.In dramatic events on a tension-filled day when scores ofheavily-armed soldiers surrounded a lake-front luxury hotel incentral Colombo, where 59-year-old Fonseka was staying, thedefeated candidate sought protection from "a neighbouringcountry", apparently India, fearing for his safety.Gen. Fonseka complained of ‘large scale electoralmalpractices’ and said he would ask the Election Commission toannul the result.Democratic People’s Front (DPF) leader Mano Ganesan,after a brief meeting with Gen. Fonseka, told reporters at thehotel that the Opposition would issue a joint statement.The enthusiasm evident among the Opposition leaders forGen. Fonseka till polling day was missing after the verdict. Theyappeared to be embarrassed over the discovery he had notdeemed it necessary to enroll himself as a voter.In response to a question on Gen. Fonseka’s apprehensions,Mr. Rajapaksa asked, “What is his problem? He can always get intouch with me on matters related to his security. After all he wasmy former Army Chief.”Later amidst much cheering and bursting of crackers, hetold a group of party supporters that he would make Sri Lankathe number one destination for investment and tourism. He alsoasked them to gear up for the Parliamentary election scheduledfor April.In his comments at the ceremony to declare the winner, theElection Commissioner said he was disappointed as hisdirectives were not adhered to by the State media and somegovernment department heads during electioneering.Several times in the past the Election Commissioner hadasked the government to relieve him of his responsibilities onhealth grounds.In the presidential polls in 2005, the then Prime MinisterMahinda Rajapaksa, who contested on United Party FreedomAlliance ) ticket, obtained 4,887,162 votes (50.29 per cent)and the United National Party candidate and Oppositionleader, Ranil Wickremesinghe, secured 4,706,366 votes(47.43 per cent). Mr. Wickremesinghe lost mainly due toLTTE leader Velupillai Prabakaran’s diktat to Tamils toboycott the election.PT’s PrepTalk – February 2010 07