Presidential election in Sri Lanka 2010

The presidential election in Sri Lanka took place on January 26, 2010. The election was won by the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa ahead of his main rival General Sarath Fonseka .

Political background

The election was the sixth presidential election since the country gained independence in 1948. On November 23, 2009, incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced early elections. His 6-year term would not have ended until 2011. The Sri Lankan Constitution allowed the President to call for new elections after the fourth year of his term at the earliest, which the President made use of. Candidate nominations were possible until December 17, 2009. Mahinda Rajapaksa won the last presidential election in 2005 with a very narrow majority of 50.29% of the vote. The separatist Tamil Tigers had called for a boycott of the election, and voter turnout had been very low in the north and east. The opposition accused Rajapaksa of winning the election because of this boycott. One of the main reasons why Rajapaksa stood for election almost two years earlier than necessary was the relatively favorable political mood for him in Sri Lanka. Rajapaksa had managed to achieve significant political success during his tenure in a field in which his three predecessors had failed. During his tenure, he succeeded in defeating the Tamil Tigers militarily and thus de facto ending the almost 26-year civil war on the island . This had brought him a considerable gain in popularity, at least with most Sinhalese . This high sentiment was also evident in the regional elections between 2008 and 2009, which were won by the United People's Freedom Alliance .

Main counterparties

President Mahinda Rajapaksa was supported by the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), an alliance of parties with a political focus in the south of the country. His main contestant was General Sarath Fonseka. Fonseka was supreme commander of the Sri Lankan army from 2005 to 2009 and was therefore primarily responsible for the victory over the Tamil Tigers. in large parts of the population of Sri Lanka he is therefore seen as a military hero. After the end of the civil war, there was an increasing distancing between the general and the president. At the request of the opposition parties, Fonseka agreed to run for the presidency and therefore resigned from his military post in November 2009. He was supported by the New Democratic Front , a newly formed political party that emerged from the former Democratic United National Front and the United National Front . In addition, although Fonseka had the reputation of an uncompromising Sinhala nationalist, Fonseka managed to win the support of many Tamil and Muslim organizations in the run-up to the election , mainly because they mistrusted President Rajapaksa's autocratic behavior. In addition to Rajapaksa and Fonseka, about 20 other candidates were eligible for election.

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  Mahinda Rajapaksa (UPFA)

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  Sarath Fonseka (New Democratic Front)

Course of the election campaign and the election

See also : Elections in Sri Lanka

14,088,500 registered voters were entitled to vote. Votes were cast in around 11,000 polling stations. There were numerous violent riots and arrests during the election campaign. Representatives from the United Nations , the United States , and the European Union expressed concern about the level of violence. The actual election day, however, was relatively orderly and non-violent with a massive police and military presence and the observation of international election observers. The state-controlled media mainly reported on Rajapaksa's election campaign, and state resources such as public buildings etc. were used unilaterally for the president's election campaign, which was criticized by election observers.

Results

The turnout was 74.5%. 101,838 ballot papers were invalid. According to the official final result, Rajapaksa was re-elected for a second term with 6,015,934 votes (57.88%). Fonseka received 4,173,185 votes (40.15%). Fonseka stated that he did not recognize the election result and would legally challenge the election. Rajapaksa called his victory a "choice of the people" (a choice of the people) and said he wanted to be a president for all.

Nationwide results

candidate	Political party	be right	%
Mahinda Rajapaksa	United People's Freedom Alliance	6,015,934	57.88%
Sarath Fonseka	New Democratic Front	4,173,185	40.15%
Mohomad Cassim Mohomad Ismail	Democratic United National Front	39,226	0.38%
Achala Ashoka Suraweera	Jathika Sangwardhena Peramuna	26,266	0.25%
Channa Janaka Sugathsiri Gamage	United Democratic Front	23,290	0.22%
WV Mahiman Ranjith	More independent	18,747	0.18%
Panagoda Don Prince Soloman Anura Liyanage	Sri Lanka Labor Party	14,220	0.14%
Sarath Manamendra	Nawa Sihala Urumaya	9,684	0.09%
MK Sivajilingam	More independent	9,662	0.09%
Ukkubanda Wijekoon	More independent	9,381	0.09%
Lal Perera	Our National Front	9,353	0.09%
Siritunga Jayasuriya	United Socialist Party	8,352	0.08%
Vickramabahu Karunaratna	Left front	7,055	0.07%
Idroos Mohomad Ilyas	More independent	6.131	0.06%
Wije Dias	Socialist Equality Party	4,195	0.04%
Sanath Pinnaduwa	National Alliance	3,523	0.03%
Mohamed Musthaffa	More independent	3.134	0.03%
Battaramulle Seelarathana Thero	Jana Setha Peramuna	2,770	0.03%
Senaratna de Silva	Patriotic National Front	2,620	0.03%
Aruna de Zoyza	Ruhunu Janatha Party	2,618	0.03%
Upali Sarath Kongahage	United National Alternative Front	2,260	0.02%
Muthu Bandara Theminimulla	Okkoma Vesiyo - Okkoma Rajavaru Sanvidhanaya	2.007	0.02%
total		10,393,613
Registered voters		14,088,500
Total votes		10,495,451 (74.50%)
Invalid votes		101,838
Valid votes		10,393,613

Results in the constituencies

The following table shows the official election results by constituency. Except for Vanni and Jaffna, the constituencies are identical to the districts of Sri Lanka .

Constituency	Rajapaksa		Fonseka		Other		electoral participation
	be right	%	be right	%	be right	%
Colombo	614.740	52.93	533.022	45.90	13,620	1.17	77.06
Gampaha	718.716	61.66	434.506	37.28	12,426	1.07	79.66
Kalutara	412,562	63.06	231,807	35.43	9,880	1.51	81.01
Mahanuwara	406.636	54.16	329,492	43.89	14,658	1.95	78.26
Matale	157.953	59.74	100,513	38.01	5,953	2.25	77.94
Nuwara Eliya	151.604	43.77	180.604	52.14	14,174	4.09	77.19
bile	386,971	63.69	211,633	34.83	9,017	1.48	80.25
Matara	296.155	65.53	148,510	32.86	7,264	1.61	78.60
Hambantota	226,887	67.21	105,336	31.20	5,341	1.58	80.67
Jaffna	44,154	24.75	113,877	63.84	20,338	11.40	25.66
Vanni	28,740	27.31	70,367	66.86	6,145	5.84	40.33
Batticaloa	55,663	26.27	146.057	68.93	10.171	4.80	64.83
Digamadulla	146.912	47.92	153.105	49.94	10.171	4.80	73.54
Trincomalee	69,752	43.04	87,661	54.09	4,659	2.87	68.22
Kurunegala	582,784	63.08	327,594	35.46	13,515	1.46	78.62
Puttalam	201,981	58.70	136.233	39.59	5,899	1.71	70.02
Anuradhapura	298,448	66.32	143,761	31.94	7,829	1.74	78.35
Polonnauwa	144,889	64.92	75,026	33.62	3,260	1.46	80.13
Badulla	237,579	53.23	198,835	44.55	9,880	2.21	78.70
Monaragala	158,435	69.01	66,803	29.10	4,346	1.89	77.12
Ratnapura	377.734	63.76	203,566	34.36	11,126	1.88	81.24
Kegalle	296,639	61.80	174,877	36.44	8,448	1.76	78.76
Overall result	6,015,934	57.88	4,173,185	40.15	204.494	1.97	74.49

Voting cards

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  Majorities according to the 160 electoral districts (numbering explained in the map legend). Fonseka won the majority in the predominantly Tamil-populated regions, Rajapaksa received the majority in the predominantly Sinhalese areas. The only major exception was the capital region Colombo. Majority for Mahinda Rajapaksa Majority for Sarath Fonseka
  
  

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  Majorities after the 22 constituencies (largely identical to the districts of Sri Lanka): Majority for Mahinda Rajapaksa Majority for Sarath Fonseka
  
  

Web links

Commons : Sri Lanka Presidential Elections 2010  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ The official government news portal of Sri Lanka: President decides to hold the Presidential Election , reported November 23, 2009
2. ^ The official government news portal of Sri Lanka: Presidential Election on January 26, 2010 , reported November 27, 2009
3. ↑ H ardliner wins Sri Lanka election , BBCNews, 18 November 2005
4. ↑ Sri Lanka Rebels Concede Defeat , Voice of America News.com, news of May 17, 2009
5. ^ One million more voters for Presidential poll , Satarupa Bhattacharjya in The Sunday Times , November 22, 2009
6. ↑ Police to take star action ( memento of the original from January 30, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Rafik Jalaldeen, January 26, 2010, Daily News , Colombo 
7. ↑ Sri Lanka: Ban concerned over rising violence ahead of presidential polls , UN News Center. January 20, 2010. Accessed January 21, 2010. 
8. ↑ B. Muralidhar Reddy: US express train concern over poll-related violence in Sri Lanka , The Hindu . January 13, 2010. Accessed January 21, 2010. 
9. ^ Statement by High Representative / Vice President Catherine Ashton on Sri Lanka's pre-election situation , EU . January 20, 2010. Accessed January 21, 2010. 
10. ↑ Sri Lanka presidential votes being counted , BBC News, reported January 26, 2010
11. ↑ No major incidents - IGP ( Memento of the original from June 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , from Sarath Malalasekera, Daily News , reported January 27, 2010 
12. ↑ Sri Lanka heads to polls for tense election  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , AFP - France24, notification dated January 26, 2010  
13. ↑ Misuse Of Public Property And Funds , by Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema, The Sunday Leader , reported January 3, 2010
14. ^ All Island Final Result . Department of Elections of Sri Lanka. January 27, 2010. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 27, 2010. 
15. ↑ Fonseka rejects Sri Lanka's election win for Rajapaksa. In: BBC , January 27, 2010. 
16. ↑ Mahinda accepts "people's victory". In: Daily Mirror , January 27, 2010. 
17. ^ Presidential Election - 2010 . In: slelections.gov.lk . Department of Elections (Sri Lanka). 2010. Archived from the original on January 27, 2010. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 27, 2010.