Climate of extreme tension in Sri Lanka for the presidential election

Nearly 15 million voters were called to the polls in Sri Lanka to say which of the two main candidates will win the supreme seat. Among them, the head of state, whose term will only end in two years and who has taken the liberty of bringing forward the date of the election. With the end of the war, Mahinda Rajapakse is counting on her current popularity to make a difference.

To face him, his former army chief Sarath Fonseka, who resigned from his post to join the opposition camp. He is considered the hero of the war against the separatist rebellion of the Tamil tigers.

And while his supporters are already claiming victory, a question of size may further widen the division between the two camps: will Fonseka be declared ineligible for this election? In any case, this is the wish of the government which has requested it from the courts.

First lesson from the ballot box, Sri Lankans turned out en masse for this first presidential election organized since the end of the war.

It remains to be seen whether the administrative problem invoked by the Rajapakse camp will be enough to convince the judges. Registered as a candidate, Fonseka was however unable to vote. His name does not appear on the 2008 electoral register.

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