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| Gotabaya Rajapaksa elected president of Sri Lanka | Gotabaya Rajapaksa elected president of Sri Lanka |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Main rival concedes nationalist son of country’s most powerful political dynasty has won | Main rival concedes nationalist son of country’s most powerful political dynasty has won |
| Sri Lanka’s former wartime defence minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa, part of the country’s most powerful political dynasty, has been elected president, raising fears about the future of human rights and religious harmony in the region. | Sri Lanka’s former wartime defence minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa, part of the country’s most powerful political dynasty, has been elected president, raising fears about the future of human rights and religious harmony in the region. |
| Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the candidate for the SLPP, the Sinhalese-Buddhist nationalist party, claimed an easy victory in the presidential election held on Saturday, which had been fought against the backdrop of some of the worst political instability and violence the country has seen since the end of the civil war a decade ago. | Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the candidate for the SLPP, the Sinhalese-Buddhist nationalist party, claimed an easy victory in the presidential election held on Saturday, which had been fought against the backdrop of some of the worst political instability and violence the country has seen since the end of the civil war a decade ago. |
| Before even half of the votes were in, the Rajapaksa camp were quick to claim victory. | Before even half of the votes were in, the Rajapaksa camp were quick to claim victory. |
| “It is a clear win. We envisaged it. We are very happy that Gota will be the next president. He will be sworn in tomorrow or the day after,” said his spokesman, Keheliya Rambukwella. The candidate for Sri Lanka’s ruling UNP party, Sajith Premadasa, quickly accepted defeat and congratulated his rival. | “It is a clear win. We envisaged it. We are very happy that Gota will be the next president. He will be sworn in tomorrow or the day after,” said his spokesman, Keheliya Rambukwella. The candidate for Sri Lanka’s ruling UNP party, Sajith Premadasa, quickly accepted defeat and congratulated his rival. |
| Official results showed Gotabaya Rajapaksa took 52.25% of the vote. The results were very much divided down ethnic lines, with the majority Sinhala Buddhist community voting overwhelmingly for Gotabaya Rajapaksa, while minority Muslims and Tamils favoured Premadasa. | |
| The election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a former army general who was defence minister during the civil war, could be a decisive moment for Sri Lanka. He is known for his nationalistic and authoritarian leanings and is still facing allegations of corruption and torture. | The election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a former army general who was defence minister during the civil war, could be a decisive moment for Sri Lanka. He is known for his nationalistic and authoritarian leanings and is still facing allegations of corruption and torture. |
| “It is all our worst fears realised,” said Hilmy Ahmed, the vice-president of the Sri Lanka Muslim Council. “Sri Lanka is totally polarised by this result and we can see through the votes there is now a clear divide between the Sinhala Buddhist majority and the minorities. It is a huge challenge to see how the country could be united.” | “It is all our worst fears realised,” said Hilmy Ahmed, the vice-president of the Sri Lanka Muslim Council. “Sri Lanka is totally polarised by this result and we can see through the votes there is now a clear divide between the Sinhala Buddhist majority and the minorities. It is a huge challenge to see how the country could be united.” |
| The polls took place seven months after the deadly Easter Sunday attacks, which saw self-radicalised Islamist extremists bomb hotels and churches, killing more than 250 people and throwing Sri Lanka into a state of emergency. | The polls took place seven months after the deadly Easter Sunday attacks, which saw self-radicalised Islamist extremists bomb hotels and churches, killing more than 250 people and throwing Sri Lanka into a state of emergency. |
| Rajapaksa, who served as defence minister when his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa was president between 2005 and 2010, played on fears stoked by the attacks and put security at the forefront of his campaign agenda. He and Mahinda Rajapaksa are credited with ending the 26-year Sri Lankan civil war, which took more than 100,000 lives, but their legacy is one tarnished with grave human rights abuses and oppression. | Rajapaksa, who served as defence minister when his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa was president between 2005 and 2010, played on fears stoked by the attacks and put security at the forefront of his campaign agenda. He and Mahinda Rajapaksa are credited with ending the 26-year Sri Lankan civil war, which took more than 100,000 lives, but their legacy is one tarnished with grave human rights abuses and oppression. |
| As de facto head of the army during the brutal end of the civil war between the majority Sinhala-Buddhist government and minority Tamil separatists, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been accused of creating military “death squads” who hunted down Tamil fighters and any critics of the government. | As de facto head of the army during the brutal end of the civil war between the majority Sinhala-Buddhist government and minority Tamil separatists, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been accused of creating military “death squads” who hunted down Tamil fighters and any critics of the government. |
| He has already explicitly said he would repeal Sri Lanka’s commitment to a UN human rights agenda for reconciliation and accountability for atrocities committed in the civil war, describing it as “illegal”. | He has already explicitly said he would repeal Sri Lanka’s commitment to a UN human rights agenda for reconciliation and accountability for atrocities committed in the civil war, describing it as “illegal”. |
| Basil Rajapaksa, another of the Rajapaksa brothers who was the chief strategist of the election campaign, pledged Gotabaya’s presidency would be a departure from the oppression under Mahinda and they would “respect media freedom and civic organisations”. Under Mahinda Rajapaksa, all dissent was crushed and journalists and campaigners were routinely attacked. The police and the judiciary were also under the control of the Rajapaksa family. | Basil Rajapaksa, another of the Rajapaksa brothers who was the chief strategist of the election campaign, pledged Gotabaya’s presidency would be a departure from the oppression under Mahinda and they would “respect media freedom and civic organisations”. Under Mahinda Rajapaksa, all dissent was crushed and journalists and campaigners were routinely attacked. The police and the judiciary were also under the control of the Rajapaksa family. |
| Minorities in Sri Lanka were alarmed at the divisive Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist agenda which the Gotabaya Rajapaksa campaign was seen as promoting. | Minorities in Sri Lanka were alarmed at the divisive Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist agenda which the Gotabaya Rajapaksa campaign was seen as promoting. |
| The Muslim community in particular, having faced violence and boycotts since the Easter Sunday attacks, had expressed concern about the prospect of Rajapaksa’s election. He has the backing of the nationalist Buddhist groups responsible for stoking anti-Muslim sentiment and violence in recent years. | The Muslim community in particular, having faced violence and boycotts since the Easter Sunday attacks, had expressed concern about the prospect of Rajapaksa’s election. He has the backing of the nationalist Buddhist groups responsible for stoking anti-Muslim sentiment and violence in recent years. |
| The election saw a turnout of 80%, one of the largest in Sri Lanka’s recent history. It was also relatively peaceful, despite being marred by incidents including a shooting attack on buses carrying Muslim voters in the north-east, which were stopped by a roadblock and fired upon. There were no casualties. | The election saw a turnout of 80%, one of the largest in Sri Lanka’s recent history. It was also relatively peaceful, despite being marred by incidents including a shooting attack on buses carrying Muslim voters in the north-east, which were stopped by a roadblock and fired upon. There were no casualties. |
| The election commission said it expected the results to be clear by late Sunday and a new president to be sworn in within a day. | The election commission said it expected the results to be clear by late Sunday and a new president to be sworn in within a day. |
| The Rajapaksa campaign has also confirmed it intended to put Mahinda forward for prime minister at the general elections next year, paving the way for the family to take a double hold on power in Sri Lanka. | The Rajapaksa campaign has also confirmed it intended to put Mahinda forward for prime minister at the general elections next year, paving the way for the family to take a double hold on power in Sri Lanka. |