Colombo, Jan. 27: Seeking to usher in peace and prosperity in post-war Sri Lanka, President Mahinda Rajapakse scored a landslide victory over the common Opposition candidate, his former military chief Sarath Fonseka, in a bitterly-fought election for the sixth executive presidency held on Tuesday. It was also the first poll-war electoral exercise in the island nation, and the verdict is being contested as doctored by Gen. Fonseka.

Despite almost the entire minority vote — of Tamils and Muslims in the north and east, besides Nuwara-Eliya, dominated by Tamil estate labourers in the central province — going to Gen. Fonseka, the 64-year-old President ended up with an impressive score of a little over six million votes (57.88 per cent) in an electorate of 14.08 million, while Gen. Fonseka got 4.17 million votes (40.15 per cent). The huge victory margin has shocked the Opposition, which even accused the government of restraining the movements of their presidential candidate and confining him in a hotel room. The government rubbished the charge.
Even as his supporters burst crackers and shared milk-rice prepared in huge drums on the streets, President Rajapakse visited the Election Commission to receive the formal confirmation of his victory from commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake. He told reporters he would function “as the President of those who voted for me and those who did not.” He reiterated his poll-time invitation to all to join him in developing Sri Lanka “as the number one destination for investment and tourism.”
Asked about Gen. Fonseka’s security fears, the President shot back: “He can always get in touch with me on matters relating to his security. After all, he is my former Army chief.” Later, he told a huge gathering of supporters outside the commission’s headquarters that they should be restrained in their show of post-victory enthusiasm and channel their energies into preparing for the parliamentary elections expected in a couple of months.
Emerging briefly from his room at the Cinnamon Lake Hotel late Wednesday evening, Gen. Fonseka told reporters that he had written to the election commissioner expressing a threat to his life. “Only the President and (his brother) defence secretary (Gotabhaya) should be held responsible should anything happen to me,” said the 59-year-old former general. He said he had moved into the hotel “after getting wind of a government plan to arrest me last night.” The military and police had since ringed the hotel and 10 of his security personnel were handcuffed and taken away.
Government spokesman Lakshman Hulugalle told reporters: “They are spreading dangerous falsehood that Fonseka is under house arrest, while he is staying at a five-star hotel and meeting with his relatives, friends and party members. They are unable to react to this overwhelming people’s support seen in the poll verdict.” He said the Opposition JVP was “playing a dangerous game”, sending messages to its cadre in the districts to descend on Colombo “for rescuing Fonseka from house arrest.” The government would take serious action if any attempt to breach law and order was made by these Opposition groups, Mr Hulugalle warned.
Senior ministers G. L. Pieris and Mahinda Samarasinghe and ruling UPFA chief Sushil Premajayantha held a press briefing. “Why should a victorious candidate arrest a loser?” they asked.
President Rajapakse has improved his victory lead by 10 times the margin of 1.8 lakh he had scored in the last presidential poll in November 2005, when he defeated former Prime Minister and United National Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, thanks to a boycott diktat served by the LTTE on the Tamils. His victory margin this time is second only to his predecessor Chandrika Kumaratunga’s score of 62 per cent when she first contested for presidency in 1994.

R. Bhagwan Singh