SRI LANKA-POLITICS/CAMPAIGNING ENDS Campaigns for Sri Lanka's presidential elections end

Record ID: 347253

  • Title: SRI LANKA-POLITICS/CAMPAIGNING ENDS Campaigns for Sri Lanka's presidential elections end
  • Date: 6th January 2015
  • Summary: ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** SIRISENA LEAVING THE RALLY
  • Embargoed: 21st January 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Sri Lanka
  • Country: Sri Lanka
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA5264ZO97Y090ZRX209LO4WO2P
  • Story Text: PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
    Campaigning for Sri Lanka's presidential elections ended on Tuesday (January 6) as voters prepared to head to the polls later this week.
    President Mahinda Rajapaksa, bidding for a third term, and his former health minister, Mithripala Sirisena, are competing in Thursday (January 8) presidential election, which is expected to be a tight race between the one-time party allies.
    Rajapaksa, president since 2005, faces criticism over corruption, nepotism and intervention in foreign services and the judiciary, charges he has rejected.
    He is also at loggerheads with Western nations which say that war crimes were committed during the final phase of the war against Tamil Tiger rebels. They have also complained about the slow pace of reconciliation with minority Tamils in the island's north.
    "They have problems because I came from the village. That is their biggest headache. The headache Americans have is also me. The headache Europe has is also me. Some other powerful people have the same problem. But there is nothing I can do. I have to represent my country. I have no other choice," Rajapaksa said at a rally on Monday (January 5).
    Branded a "traitor" by Rajapaksa's close allies, Sirisena has forged many political alliances and now appears to be within striking distance of unseating a president who, just weeks ago, had looked unassailable.
    The 63-year-old leader from the rural heartlands projects himself as a champion of the farming masses, a clean-living figure who has campaigned against smoking and abjures alcohol.
    He has pledged to deal with war-crimes allegations through an independent mechanism, establish independent commissions to secure the impartiality of the judiciary, police and other public services, and crack down on corruption.
    "After the people called President Rajapaksa 'king' after bringing peace, he thought he must act like a king. He forgot the Sri Lanka Freedom Party which brought him to power. He silenced his cabinet. He silenced his parliamentarians. He removed Chief Justice Shirani Bandarnayake from office and silenced the judiciary. Government service, the police was taken under the control of the Rajapaksa family. He didn't stop there. Unlike any other leader or government before this, his regime indulged in unprecedented corruption," Sirisena said.
    Political analysts expect election violence, including possible clashes between parties of the ethnic Tamil and Muslim minorities that back Sirisena and the extremist Buddhist groups behind Rajapaksa
    Three supporters of the challenger for Sri Lanka's presidency were injured by unidentified gunmen on Monday.
    Over the weekend a volley of shots were fired at a campaign meeting just after Sirisena had left the stage in his rural heartland home district.
    "The issues surround the abuse of state resources, violence, particularly violence against opposition candidates. There have been concerns raised about the role of the military, or the potential role of the military in the election process," Head of the Commonwealth Election Monitors, Bharrat Jagdeo said at a news conference on Thursday (January 1).
    The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence said two of their officers were also attacked in the eastern port district of Trincomalee by backers of Rajapaksa's party.
    But their Co-Convener, Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu said the incidents of violence are fewer, compared to previous years.
    "The violence in terms of the number of incidents in comparison to the last presidential election in 2010 has reduced. That's probably due to the duration of the campaign, it is a short campaign. Furthermore, the disproportionate amount of resources in the hands of the government as opposed to the opposition means less pasting of posters which is an area where you get, quite frequently, opportunities for violence," he said.
    Voting will take place on Thursday (January 8) and the final result is expected by Friday (January 9) afternoon.
    There is no credible and unbiased opinion poll on the election outcome.
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