Sri Lanka's presidential polls: A startling upset for Mahinda Rajapaksa

NEW DELHI: After a startling upset in Sri Lanka’s presidential polls, Mahinda Rajapaksa conceded defeat on Friday morning, bringing an abrupt end to a larger-than-life presidency that he had hoped to extend into a third six-year term. Rajapaksa’s defeat is remarkable because he had an overwhelming advantage going into the election.

During nearly a decade in office, he had built close ties with China, begun a campaign of “mega development” and sharply centralised power in one of Asia’s oldest democracies. His image is ubiquitous in Sri Lanka’s public spaces. His campaign rallies were lavish, well-funded, where he addressed a sea of voters bused in from surrounding villages. Sirisena, unable to book stadiums, spoke to people gathered in vacant lots.

On Friday, Sri Lanka’s Election Commission announced that Sirisena had won about 51.3% of the vote, with 47.6% going to Rajapaksa. The margin was just under 450,000 votes. Rajapaksa’s son Namal wrote on Twitter that his family had accepted the election results. “Thank you to everyone who supported us through these years,” he said.

Over the past several years, Rajapaksa had steadily tightened his grip on power, amending the Constitution to eliminate term limits and dismissing a Supreme Court justice who resisted his changes.

But he did so under favorable circumstances, riding a wave of popularity among majority Sinhalese after crushing Tamil insurgency in 2009. Since that victory, Sri Lanka has benefited from a thriving tourist industry and had the highest economic growth rate in the region, leading many to conclude that voters would tolerate his consolidation of power.

Thursday’s vote called that calculus into question, said Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director of the Center for Policy Alternatives in Colombo. After counting began on Thursday, he said, the president must have quickly understood that he had lost the polls, and been encouraged to concede by army and police officials.