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S Lanka's Rajapaksa 'admits defeat' Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa 'admits defeat' in election
(35 minutes later)
Sri Lanka's long-time leader Mahinda Rajapaksa admits defeat in presidential election, his office says Sri Lanka's long-time leader Mahinda Rajapaksa has admitted defeat in the presidential election, his office says.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. President Rajapaksa has dominated politics for a decade, but faced an unexpected challenge from his health minister Maithripala Sirisena.
If you want to receive Breaking News alerts via email, or on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App then details on how to do so are available on this help page. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter to get the latest alerts. The statement said Mr Rajapaksa would "ensure a smooth transition of power bowing to the wishes of the people".
Mr Rajapaksa, who was seeking a third term in office, is credited by many with ending the civil war in 2009.
Troops routed the Tamil Tigers after more than two decades of fighting.
But rights groups accused both sides in the war of atrocities, allegations the government denies.
Officials results are not due until later on Friday, but early results indicated that Mr Sirisena was on course to win the 50% needed for victory.
'Left residence'
Mr Rajakpaksa's press officer said the president had "conceded defeat at a meeting with opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and the new president will be sworn in this evening".
He added that Mr Rajapaksa had already left his official residence.
The BBC's Azzam Ameen in the capital, Colombo, said firecrackers could be heard across the city after Mr Rajapaksa's declaration.
Both Mr Rajapaksa and Mr Sirisena are Sinhalese, the majority ethnic group in Sri Lanka.
They were allies until November, when Mr Sirisena announced his surprise candidacy.
The former health minister had been tipped to gather most of the votes from the minority groups, with whom Mr Rajapaksa is deeply unpopular.
But he also needed a substantial number of votes from the Sinhalese, who have generally backed the long-time president in huge numbers.