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Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa admits defeat in election | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Sri Lanka's long-time leader Mahinda Rajapaksa has admitted defeat in the presidential election, his office says. | Sri Lanka's long-time leader Mahinda Rajapaksa has admitted defeat in the presidential election, his office says. |
President Rajapaksa has dominated politics for a decade, but faced an unexpected challenge from his health minister Maithripala Sirisena. | President Rajapaksa has dominated politics for a decade, but faced an unexpected challenge from his health minister Maithripala Sirisena. |
The statement said Mr Rajapaksa would "ensure a smooth transition of power". | |
Official results are not due until later on Friday, but early results indicated that Mr Sirisena was on course to win the 50% needed. | |
He has not yet commented. | |
'Left residence' | 'Left residence' |
Mr Rajapaksa, who was seeking a third term in office, is credited by many with ending the civil war in 2009, when troops routed the Tamil Tigers separatist rebels after more than two decades of fighting. | |
But rights groups accused both sides in the war of atrocities, allegations the government denies. | |
Mr Rajakpaksa's press officer said the president "concedes defeat and will ensure a smooth transition of power bowing to the wishes of the people". | |
He added that Mr Rajapaksa had already left his official residence and the new leader would be sworn in later on Friday. | |
The BBC's Azzam Ameen in the capital, Colombo, said firecrackers could be heard across the city after Mr Rajapaksa's declaration. | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | But he also needed a substantial number of votes from the Sinhalese, who have generally backed the long-time president in huge numbers. |
High Tamil turnout | |
Turnout in many areas was above 70%, roughly in line with previous elections, with no reports of major incidents disrupting the voting process. | |
In Jaffna and Trincomalee, two of the main Tamil strongholds expected to vote against Mr Rajapaksa, turnout was higher than previous national elections. | |
The build-up to Sri Lankan elections is usually blighted by dozens of deaths, but this year just one election-related death was reported. | |
Mr Rajapaksa was last elected in 2010 when he defeated his former army chief Sarath Fonseka, who was later jailed on charges of implicating the government in war crimes. |