Rajapaksa, who oversaw the military defeat of Tamil separatists under his brother and then president Mahinda Rajapaksa 10 years ago, has promised strong leadership to secure the island of 22 million people, the majority of whom are Sinhalese Buddhists. With a quarter of total votes counted, Rajapaksa had 48.2 percent, while his main rival government minister Sajith Premadasa stood at 45.3 percent, the election commission said. Rajapaksa held a commanding edge in the Sinhalese-dominated southern part of the island as well as postal ballots. Premadasa, who campaigned on policies to help the poor, was leading in the north where minority Tamils are predominant. The election commission has said it expects results to be clear by late Sunday and a new president will be sworn in within a day.

Source: bd News24 November 17, 2019 03:56 UTC