If anything,adding to Thusitha's comments ,the majority Sinhalese had a hard choice as both candidates were "war heroes".However,they placed national leadership overall (rightly) over military leadership as the main contributing factor to the victory over the LTTE and have placed their current economic woes as secondary,with the caveat and hope that with the war over,the Rajapakse regime should win the peace and concentrate upon economic development,something that a general would be less capable of accomplishing.This will be the key issue when the general elections are held later on.Years ago the feeling was (when JRJ won his second term), "give JR another term but throw out the useless ones in his party", at the general election.But JR never held those elections (held a controversial referendum instead to extend the life of that parliament's) and that frustration resulted in the ethnic conflict exploding.
Thusitha has however pointed out another key factor that worked in Rajapakse's favour.When he started his first term and found the LTTE intransigent,he publicly stated that there would be no more peace talks until the LTTE gave up their arms.I commented last year that it "went down very well in the country".His upturned finger to the western interests who wanted to save the LTTE hierarchy also went down very well,not only in Lanka but also in India.Herr General,with a view towards his "green card" interest and the sudden "summons" by the State Dept. when he was in the US,appeared to give him the stigma of being a catspaw for western interests.Ranil W. is an open western friend and Sri Lankan pride in their president being steadfast under pressure contrasted enormously with a general whose controversial statements about war crimes seemed to have been supporting western interests rather than Sri Lanka's.
The president would do best now with victory in his pocket to simply ignore his defeated rival and concentrate upon the job in hand.Making a martyr out of the general could still lose his party many votes come the general election.As Gamma wrote,"the Sinhalese memory lasts only one week".
President Mahinda Rajapaksa wins Sri Lanka electionIncumbent wins first election since Tamil Tigers' defeat as rival Sarath Fonseka disputes result and says he fears arrest
Buzz up!
Digg it
Shehani Fernando in Colombo and Mark Tran
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 27 January 2010 13.12 GMT
Article history
Sri Lanka's People's Alliance supporters hold a poster of newly re-elected president Mahinda Rajapaksa as the election results were announced in Colombo. Photograph: Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty Images
President Mahinda Rajapaksa today won a resounding victory in Sri Lanka's first election since the defeat of the Tamil Tigers, confounding predictions of a close race.
His main rival, General Sarath Fonseka, the former head of the army, immediately disputed the result and said he feared arrest.
In a letter to the election commission, Fonseka said he would begin legal proceedings to have the result annulled.
As the votes were counted, troops surrounded the Cinnamon Lakeside hotel where Fonseka – the president's former ally, now turned bitter enemy, was staying.
"These people have surrounded the hotel with military and threatened my security people," Fonseka told Reuters by phone. "They had a plan to surround us and take us into custody and I don't know if this is that phase of that particular operation."
Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, a military spokesman, said there were no plans to arrest Fonseka, but rather to capture around 400 army deserters with him who could pose a potential coup risk.
"They have booked 100 rooms. They are highly-trained military people. We are suspicious about their gathering. General Fonseka has released nine deserters to the military police," he said.
The election commission declared Rajapaksa the winner with 57.8% of the vote to Fonseka's 40% in Sri Lanka's first election since the Tamil Tigers were crushed in a ruthless military campaign last year.
Electoral commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake told reporters. There was "no question" Rajapaksa had won more than the required 50% plus one vote to secure victory.
Rajapaksa's spokesman, Lucien Rajakarunanayake, said the president "has won a historic and resounding victory in the first free and fair elections held throughout the country since the defeat of terrorism".
The mood was subdued in Colombo. Shops and offices were closed as it was a public holiday, and the usually chaotic streets were empty. Driving along the Galle road, a small band of Sinhalese Rajapaksa supporters lit firecrackers, one of the few celebrations of his victory.
The low-key atmosphere in Colombo reflected the capital's support for the losing candidate. The results for the Colombo central district saw the ex-general winning 78,152 votes to Rajapaksa's 21,821
But in Kotte, off the main road leading to parliament, Kankanthange Siripala Perera, 50, said he voted for Rajapaksa. Wearing a pro-Rajapaksa T-shirt, he said: "Fuel, petrol and oil is expensive now because they spent a lot on the war. So he didn't have the money to develop the country, but after the election he will build up the country and the economy."
In Wellawatta, a predominantly Tamil area, Sellar Yoganathan, 52, who works for an airport pick-up service, said: "Tamil people are not so satisfied with the result. For 30 years we had to face the war. The results coming in show that most of the Tamil areas voted for Sarath Fonseka – Jaffna, Batticaloa, Puttalum etc.
"There's a lack of business opportunities for Tamils in the North. Mahinda told everyone that Jaffna and the north is clear but still the roads are closed and factories are not opening."
Soori Asgaram, a civil engineer who returned to Sri Lanka three months ago after living in Britain for 44 years, thought the result held out the best prospect for a resolution of the Tamil issue that has bedevilled the island for decades.
"Unlike Fonseka, Rajapaksa has not made racist speeches," he said from the northern city of Jaffna. "He has pledged to push for devolution of power to the north and east, and has said that the solution to the national question must have the agreement of all parties."
Fonseka resigned from the army in November after complaining that he was sidelined and wrongly suspected of plotting a coup. Fonseka as army commander led the ruthlesss military offensive against the Tamil Tigers, while Rajapaksa defied international pressure for a ceasefire and criticism over civilian deaths.
Entering the race with the backing of a coalition of opposition parties, Fonseka was Rajapaksa's main rival in a vitriolic election campaign marred by violence. The general accused his former boss of corruption and the president called Fonseka a dictator-in-waiting.
After the polls closed, government officials said they would seek to disqualify Fonseka's candidacy because he was not registered to vote, but the electoral commissioner later said that Fonseka's voting status was irrelevant to his candidacy.
Civil society groups have accused Rajapaksa of misusing state resources – including monopolising coverage on state TV – to bolster his campaign. Other critics have accused him of nepotism – he has two brothers in the government – and of tolerating corruption.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/ja ... a-election
charge SF with court martial??