Rajapaksa Leading Substantially in Lankan Presidential Vote

In Sri Lanka’s sixth presidential vote, incumbent Mahinda Rajapakse has gained a lead, substantially by 60 per cent, over his main rival and former army chief General Sarath Fonseka behind, reported ANI.

According to report, Rajpakse registered victories in 32 out of 39 constituencies where ballots have been tallied.

The latest trend shows that Rajapakse is leading by nearly a million votes, sweeping the elections except for northern and eastern part of the country, where Tamils dominate, said report.

The final result is expected later this afternoon, said report.

The counting of the votes for the presidential election began on Tuesday night a few hours after voting came to an end.

The voter turnout was close to 70 per cent with over eight million people exercising their franchise.

Voting was largely peaceful though there were reports of violence in the Tamil-dominated city of Jaffna.

In 2004 elections, Rajapakse had won the presidential vote by only 1,70,000 votes.