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2019 Sri Lankan presidential election

From Wikipedia - Reading time: 22 min
2019 Sri Lankan presidential election
← 2015 16 November 2019 2022 →
Turnout83.72% (Increase2.20pp)
 
Candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa Sajith Premadasa
Party SLPP UNP
Alliance SLPFA NDF
Popular vote 6,924,255 5,564,239
Percentage 52.25% 41.99%
Results by polling division
President before election

Maithripala Sirisena
SLFP

Elected President

Gotabaya Rajapaksa
SLPP

The 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election was the 8th presidential election, held on 16 November 2019.[1][2] Incumbent president Maithripala Sirisena did not run for a second term. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, brother of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, was the candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna[3] and was endorsed by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.[4] Sajith Premadasa, son of former president Ranasinghe Premadasa and deputy leader of the United National Party was the candidate of the ruling party.[5][6]

The results were announced on 17 November 2019. Rajapaksa won the election in a landslide victory, winning 52.25% of all votes cast compared his main opponent Premadasa's 41.99%. The results of the election subsequently brought the Rajapaksa family back to power after a 5-year interregnum.[7][8]

Sirisena's term of office would have ended on 9 January 2020. This was the first presidential election in Sri Lanka where no sitting president, prime minister or opposition leader ran for president.

Electoral system

[edit]

The President of Sri Lanka is elected via limited ranked voting. Voters can express up to three ranked preferences for President. If no candidate receives over 50% of valid votes on the first count, all candidates except for the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes are eliminated. The second and third preferences of the eliminated candidates are distributed until one of the remaining two candidates receives an outright majority.[9] In practice, this system has seen little use, as each direct election going back to the first in 1981 has resulted in a candidate from one of the two major parties or alliances at the time winning in the first count. For this reason, many citizens opt to mark only one candidate, and many are wholly unaware that multiple candidates can be ranked at all.[10]

Timeline

[edit]
2018
2019
  • 9 January – President Maithripala Sirisena becomes eligible to call for presidential elections at anytime.[2]
  • 31 January – President Sirisena is approved unanimously as the candidate of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party during the Party's Anuradhapura district convention.[11][12]
  • 6 March – Gotabaya Rajapaksa submits application through the United States Embassy to renounce his US citizenship.[3]
  • 26 March – Gotabaya Rajapaksa travels to the United States for a personal visit, where he also expects to expedite his request to renounce his citizenship.[3][13]
  • 7 April – While in the United States, Gotabaya Rajapaksa is served with notice of two separate civil lawsuits against him in California over the assassination of journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge as well as on behalf of Roy Samathanam, a Tamil torture survivor.[14][15]
  • 12 April – Gotabaya Rajapaksa returns to Sri Lanka from the United States.[16]
  • 21 April – The 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings occur.
  • 27 April – Gotabaya Rajapaksa announces he will run for president.[17]
  • 11 August – Mahinda Rajapaksa and his party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, officially declares Gotabaya Rajapaksa as its presidential candidate.[18]
  • 12 August – Several members of the United National Party organize a rally in Badulla to promote Sajith Premadasa as the UNP candidate, though the party was yet to name an official candidate. Sajith Premadasa clearly showed his intentions to run for the presidency.[5] All UNFGG MPs in Badulla attended the rally, as well as Harsha de Silva, Eran Wickramaratne, Ajith Perera, Sujeewa Senasinghe, Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Ranjith Aluwihare, Wasantha Aluwihare, Chandrani Bandara Jayasinghe, Buddhika Pathirana, Ankumbura Withanage, and Ashoka Abeysinghe.
  • 18 August – Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake is announced as the presidential candidate of the newly formed political alliance, the "National People's Power", in a rally held at Galle Face.[19]
  • 23 August – Mangala Samaraweera pledges to support to Sajith as the UNP candidate during a huge rally in Matara.
  • 5 September – During a huge rally in Kurunegala, organized by all Kurunegala UNP MPs except Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, MPs pledge to support to Sajith as the UNP candidate.
  • 5 September – The Sri Lanka Freedom Party informs the Elections Commission that they will be fielding a candidate for the upcoming presidential election.[20]
  • 6 September – Prime Minister and the leader of UNP Ranil Wickremesinghe reportedly expresses his intentions to be the presidential candidate of his party.[21]
  • 15 September – The National Elections Commission now has the power to call for a presidential election at any time.[22]
  • 18 September – The department of government printing Sri Lanka prints an extraordinary gazette, which lists 7 October 2019 as the date of nominations and 16 November as the date of election with the consultation of the election commission Sri Lanka.
  • 24 September 2019 – Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe agrees to nominate UNP Deputy Leader minister Sajith Premadasa as the presidential candidate of the United National Front, the decision is yet to be approved by the working committee of the party.[6]
  • 26 September 2019 – United National Party schedule its working committee meets at Sirikotha to select its candidate by party law.[23]
  • 26 September 2019 – The working committee of the UNP unanimously selects Sajith Premadasa as its presidential candidate.
  • 29 September 2019 – Former Chief of the Sri Lankan Army Mahesh Senanayake announces that he will contest for president under the non-political National People's Movement (NPM), a collective of island-wide civil society organisations.[24]
  • 30 September – The Court of Appeal agrees to support the petition against recognizing former Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa as a citizen of Sri Lanka on 2 October.[25]
  • 1 October – Gotabaya Rajapaksa seeks court permission to travel to Singapore from 9 to 12 October due to a medical issue.[26]
  • 2 October – A three-judge bench of the Court of Appeal commences the petition filed against recognizing former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa as a Sri Lankan citizen.[27]
  • 3 October – United National Party holds its National Convention at the Sudathasada Indoor Stadium to officially name Sajith Premadasa as its candidate to the public.[28]
  • 4 October – Charges against Gotabaya Rajapaksa's citizenship issue are dismissed by the court and Rajapaksa is permitted to contest in the upcoming election.[29][30]
  • 5 October – The first ever presidential debate between presidential candidates is held.[31] All main candidates except Gotabaya Rajapaksa took part in the event.[32]
  • 7 October – Nominations for the next president are held between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. A record of 33 candidates were nominated.[33]
  • 9 October – The SLFP pledges to support SLPP candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa.[4]
  • 15 October – The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress pledges its support for UNP candidate Sajith Premadasa.[34]
  • 15 October – The Tamil Progressive Alliance pledges to support UNP candidate Sajith Premadasa.[35]
  • 18 October – The Ceylon Workers' Congress pledges to support SLPP candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa.[36]
  • 18 October – The Jathika Hela Urumaya holds a national convention to announce its support for UNP candidate Sajith Premadasa.[37]
  • 4 November – The Tamil National Alliance pledges its support for UNP candidate Sajith Premadasa.[38]
  • 5 November – Former President of Sri Lanka and SLFP leader Chandrika Kumaratunga pledges to support UNP candidate Sajith Premadasa.[39][40]
  • 16 November – Election day: Election of the next president is held between 7:00 AM and 5:00 PM.[33][41]
  • 17 November 2019 – President Maithripala Sirisena's first term of office ends.[2]
  • 18 November 2019 – Gotabaya Rajapaksa is inaugurated as the 8th President of Sri Lanka at Ruwanwelisaya.
  • 20 November 2019 – Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe resigns.[42]
  • 21 November 2019 – President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appoints his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister.

Prior to the election

[edit]
Sri Lankan recent election results
Dates of elections United National Party
(UNFGG) 		Sri Lanka Freedom Party
(UPFA) 		Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Tamil National Alliance Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Independents
Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes %
2015 presidential election 6,217,162 51.28%[i] 5,768,090 47.58% － － － － － － － － － －
2015 parliamentary election 5,098,916 45.66% 4,732,664 42.38% － － 515,963 4.62% 543,944 4.87% 44,193 0.40% 42,828 0.38%
2018 local elections 3,640,620 29.42% 1,497,234 12.10% 5,006,837 40.47% 337,877 2.73% 710,932 5.75% 92,897[ii] 0.75% 374,132 3.02%
Sri Lankan political map prior to this election
Presidential election, 2015 Parliamentary election, 2015
Elected members of each electoral district or municipalities, gaining the highest number of votes:
  United People's Freedom Alliance
  United National Party/United National Front for Good Governance/New Democratic Front
  Tamil National Alliance

Poll prediction

[edit]

Both main candidates have had their own surveys carried out with the results claiming victory for each of them.[43] Earlier circulated polls prediction which was claimed done by National Intelligence Service was proved false and manipulated.[44]

Nominations

[edit]

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)

[edit]

After the landslide victory they won at the 2018 local elections, the newly formed Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna intended to field their own candidate in the presidential election, with Chamal, Basil and Gotabaya (all brothers of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa) being mentioned as potential candidates.[45][46] Calls for Gotabaya Rajapaksa to run were made even though he was ineligible to run due to his possession of foreign citizenship.[47] Basil also held foreign citizenship and was therefore ineligible.[45]

Chamal Rajapaksa had also signaled his potential candidacy saying he would "willingly consider it if the party nominates him as the next presidential candidate", soon after the announcement made by his brother. Chamal Rajapaksa was unsure whether to contest from the SLFP or the SLPP but preferred a candidate that had the support of both parties.

On 12 January, Gotabaya announced he was ready to run in the elections if he had the support for it,[48][49] though his announcement stunned senior SLPP leaders. Gotabaya Rajapaksa was a leading government figure during the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War and the development processes of the Colombo metropolitan area and the Northern Province.[50][51][52]

In March, Chamal denied that neither him nor Basil would contest but avoided commenting on Gotabaya. Meanwhile, the SLPP announced that they favoured Gotabaya unless someone better is found.[53]

Gotabaya Rajapaksa already had a well organized campaign promoting him and according to D. B. S Jeyaraj, the Rajapaksa family had chosen to support Gotabaya as the candidate and that he would renounce his US citizenship.[54]

Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced he would run for presidency on 11 April, six days after the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings.[17] On 11 August, Mahinda Rajapaksa and the SLPP officially announced that his brother Gotabaya would be its presidential candidate, while Mahinda would run as his prime ministerial candidate.[18][55][56]

United National Party (UNP)

[edit]

The United National Party did not field their own presidential candidate in either the 2010 or 2015 presidential elections and supported a common candidate in both elections. Though Maithripala Sirisena, the UNP-backed candidate, won the 2015 election, UNP expenditure for the election period was 500 million LKR and relations between Sirisena and the UNP had been shaky from the start. The power struggle between the president and UNP prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe led to the 2018 Sri Lankan constitutional crisis. In the aftermath of the events, most UNP members publicly expressed their regret for supporting a common candidate in 2015 and promised to field their own presidential candidate in the 2019 elections.[citation needed]

Initially, party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe seemed to be the obvious choice for the candidacy and he reportedly expressed his intentions to run for the presidency in a meeting with other senior members.[21] However, several dissident UNP MPs including Mangala Samaraweera, Harin Fernando, Ajith Perera, Harsha de Silva and Sujeewa Senasinghe preferred deputy leader Sajith Premadasa as the UNP candidate, and organized a rally in Badulla where Premadasa himself openly expressed his intentions to be the UNP candidate.[57]

Amidst growing support for deputy leader Sajith Premadasa and party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe refusing to make a move, Speaker of the Parliament Karu Jayasuriya released a statement signaling his intention to run for presidency to end the confusion and avoid a rift within the party.[58] However, the Sajith faction showed that they had the popular support among party members and followers by organizing successful rallies in Matara,[59] Kurunegala,[60] and Matugama.[61]

On 26 September 2019, the working committee of the United National Party unanimously picked Sajith Premadasa as the UNP presidential candidate. Announcing the official statement, UNP General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said that Ranil Wickremesinghe would continue to function as the prime minister and leader of the UNP.[citation needed]

Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)

[edit]

Incumbent president and SLFP leader Maithripala Sirisena was eligible to run for a second term. Although he had previously stated that he would only serve a single term, after being sworn in in 2015, he had since expressed his desire to stay for a second term.[62][63] However, with many party seniors choosing to support the newly formed Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna led by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, the SLFP was weakened and suffered a humiliating loss at the 2018 local elections, thus losing the credibility it had as the main opposition to the UNP.[citation needed]

The SLFP pledged to support SLPP candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 9 October.[4]

National People's Power (NPP)

[edit]

The National People's Power party announced Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake as their candidate in a massive rally on 18 August at Galle Face.[64][65]

Candidates

[edit]

A total of 35 candidates submitted their nominations on 7 October to the election commission.[66]

Candidate Party Endorsements Notes

Sajith Premadasa
New Democratic Front

Gotabaya Rajapaksa 		Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
  • Brother of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa
  • Secretary for the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development (2005–2015)

Anura Kumara Dissanayake 		National People's Power
Mahesh Senanayake National People's Party

Ajantha Perera 		Socialist Party of Sri Lanka
  • Founder, National Programme on Recycling of Solid Waste[67][68]
Rohan Pallewatte National Development Front
  • Executive Chairman of Lanka Harness Co. (Pvt) Ltd
Duminda Nagamuwa Frontline Socialist Party
  • Propaganda Secretary of the Frontline Socialist Party
  • Previously ran in 2015.

Jayantha Ketagoda 		Independent
Siripala Amarasinghe[70] Independent
Aparekke Punnananda Thero Independent
Saman Perera Our Power of People Party
Ariyawansa Dissanayake Democratic United National Front

Siritunga Jayasuriya 		United Socialist Party
Milroy Fernando Independent
Bedde Gamage Nandimithra Nava Sama Samaja Party
Vajirapani Wijesiriwardene Socialist Equality Party
Sarath Manamendra New Sinhala Heritage
A. S. P. Liyanage Sri Lanka Labour Party
Samansiri Herath Independent
Sarath Keerthirathna Independent
Anuruddha Polgampola Independent
Samaraweera Weeravanni Independent
Ashoka Wadigamangawa Independent
Battaramulle Seelarathana Thero Jana Setha Peramuna
Illiyas Idroos Mohamed Independent
Piyasiri Wijenayake Independent
Rajiva Wijesinha Independent
Aruna De Soyza Democratic National Movement
Ajantha de Zoysa Ruhunu Janatha Peramuna
Namal Rajapaksa Nationalities Unity Organization
M. K. Shivajilingam Independent
M. L. A. M. Hizbullah Independent
Priyantha Edirisinghe Okkoma Wasiyo Okkoma Rajawaru Sanwidhanaya
Hassan Mohamed Alavi Independent
Subramanium Gunaratnam Our National Front

Results

[edit]
CandidatePartyVotes%
Gotabaya RajapaksaSri Lanka Podujana Peramuna6,924,25552.25
Sajith PremadasaNew Democratic Front5,564,23941.99
Anura Kumara DissanayakeNational People's Power418,5533.16
Mahesh SenanayakeNational People's Party49,6550.37
M. L. A. M. HizbullahIndependent38,8140.29
Ariyawansa DissanayakeDemocratic United National Front34,5370.26
Ajantha PereraSocialist Party of Sri Lanka27,5720.21
Rohan PallewatteNational Development Front25,1730.19
Siripala AmarasingheIndependent15,2850.12
Milroy FernandoIndependent13,6410.10
M. K. ShivajilingamIndependent12,2560.09
Battaramulle SeelarathanaJana Setha Peramuna11,8790.09
Ajantha de ZoysaRuhunu Janatha Peramuna11,7050.09
Anuruddha PolgampolaIndependent10,2190.08
Namal RajapaksaNational Unity Alliance9,4970.07
Jayantha KetagodaIndependent9,4670.07
Duminda NagamuwaFrontline Socialist Party8,2190.06
Aparekke PunnanandaIndependent7,6110.06
Subramanium GunaratnamOur National Front7,3330.06
A. S. P. LiyanageSri Lanka Labour Party6,4470.05
Piyasiri WijenayakeIndependent4,6360.03
Aruna de ZoysaDemocratic National Movement4,2180.03
Rajiva WijesinhaIndependent4,1460.03
Illiyas Idroos MohamedIndependent3,9870.03
Siritunga JayasuriyaUnited Socialist Party3,9440.03
Sarath KeerthirathnaIndependent3,5990.03
Sarath ManamendraNew Sinhala Heritage3,3800.03
Pani WijesiriwardeneSocialist Equality Party3,0140.02
Ashoka WadigamangawaIndependent2,9240.02
A. H. M. AlaviIndependent2,9030.02
Saman PereraOur Power of People Party2,3680.02
Priyantha EdirisingheOkkoma Wesiyo Okkoma Rajawaru Sanwidhanaya2,1390.02
Samaraweera WeerawanniIndependent2,0670.02
Bedde Gamage NandimithraNava Sama Samaja Party1,8410.01
Samansiri HerathIndependent9760.01
Total13,252,499100.00
Valid votes13,252,49998.99
Invalid/blank votes135,4521.01
Total votes13,387,951100.00
Registered voters/turnout15,992,09683.72
Source: Election Commission

By district

[edit]
Districts won by Rajapaksa
Districts won by Premadasa
Summary of the 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election by electoral district[71]
Electoral
District		 Province Rajapaksa Premadasa Others Total
Valid		 Rejected
Votes		 Total
Polled		 Registered
Electors		 Turnout
Votes % Votes % Votes %
Ampara Eastern 135,058 32.82% 259,673 63.09% 16,839 4.09% 411,570 3,158 414,728 503,790 82.32%
Anuradhapura North Central 342,223 58.97% 202,348 34.87% 35,775 6.16% 580,346 4,916 585,262 682,450 85.76%
Badulla Uva 276,211 49.29% 251,706 44.92% 32,428 5.79% 560,345 6,978 567,323 657,766 86.25%
Batticaloa Eastern 38,460 12.68% 238,649 78.70% 26,112 8.61% 303,221 4,258 307,479 398,301 77.20%
Colombo Western 727,713 53.19% 559,921 40.92% 80,543 5.89% 1,368,177 15,333 1,383,510 1,670,403 82.82%
Galle Southern 466,148 64.26% 217,401 29.97% 41,809 5.76% 725,358 5,878 731,236 858,749 85.15%
Gampaha Western 855,870 59.28% 494,671 34.26% 93,259 6.46% 1,443,800 15,751 1,459,551 1,751,892 83.31%
Hambantota Southern 278,804 66.17% 108,906 25.85% 33,664 7.99% 421,374 3,179 424,553 485,786 87.40%
Jaffna Northern 23,261 6.24% 312,722 83.86% 36,930 9.90% 372,913 11,251 384,164 564,714 68.03%
Kalutara Western 482,920 59.49% 284,213 35.01% 44,630 5.50% 811,763 6,847 818,610 955,079 85.71%
Kandy Central 471,502 50.43% 417,355 44.64% 46,018 4.92% 934,875 9,020 943,895 1,111,860 84.89%
Kegalle Sabaragamuwa 320,484 55.66% 228,032 39.60% 27,315 4.74% 575,831 5,152 580,983 676,440 85.89%
Kurunegala North Western 652,278 57.90% 416,961 37.01% 57,371 5.09% 1,126,610 8,522 1,135,132 1,331,705 85.24%
Matale Central 187,821 55.37% 134,291 39.59% 17,109 5.04% 339,221 3,252 342,473 401,496 85.30%
Matara Southern 374,481 67.25% 149,026 26.76% 33,361 5.99% 556,868 3,782 560,650 652,417 85.93%
Monaragala Uva 208,814 65.34% 92,539 28.95% 18,251 5.71% 319,604 3,000 322,604 366,524 88.02%
Nuwara Eliya Central 175,823 36.87% 277,913 58.28% 23,128 4.85% 476,864 7,155 484,019 569,028 85.06%
Polonnaruwa North Central 147,340 53.01% 112,473 40.47% 18,111 6.52% 277,924 2,563 280,487 326,443 85.92%
Puttalam North Western 230,760 50.83% 199,356 43.91% 23,860 5.26% 453,976 4,478 458,454 599,042 76.53%
Ratnapura Sabaragamuwa 448,044 59.93% 264,503 35.38% 35,124 4.70% 747,671 5,853 753,524 864,978 87.11%
Trincomalee Eastern 54,135 23.39% 166,841 72.10% 10,434 4.51% 231,410 1,832 233,242 281,114 82.97%
Vanni Northern 26,105 12.27% 174,739 82.12% 11,934 5.61% 212,778 3,294 216,072 282,119 76.59%
Total 6,924,255 52.25% 5,564,239 41.99% 764,005 5.76% 13,252,499 135,452 13,387,951 15,992,096 83.72%

Maps

[edit]
  • Winners of polling divisions
    Winners of polling divisions
  • Majorities according to polling divisions
    Majorities according to polling divisions
  • Majorities according to electoral districts
    Majorities according to electoral districts

Aftermath

[edit]

Resignations

[edit]

Minister Mangala Samaraweera informed President Maithripala Sirisena via a letter that he would step down as Minister of Finance with immediate effect. In the letter, minister Samaraweera stated that the 2019 election was the most peaceful and fair election held in the recent past.[72]

In a tweet, Minister Harin Fernando said, respecting the people's mandate, he will step down as Minister of Sports, Telecommunications and Foreign Employment. He will also be resigning from his positions at the United National Party. “I take this opportunity to thank every one who supported me in my tenure, hope good work done will be continued”, he added.[72]

Non-Cabinet Minister Ajith P. Perera said, respecting the mandate of the people of Sri Lanka, that he has decided to resign from his position as the Minister of Digital Infrastructure and IT with immediate effect. Tagging Sajith Premadasa he added, “It was a well fought battle”, “and the country needs your leadership at this critical time”.[72]

State Minister Ruwan Wijewardene congratulated Gotabaya Rajapaksa via Twitter for his victory in the election and said he will step down as State Minister of Defence. “I hope we will be able to build a nation free of division that unites all communities to take this country forward,” he added.[72]

Minister Kabir Hashim decided after the results were announced to resign as the Chairman of the United National Party and as the Minister of Highways, Road Development and Petroleum Resources Development.[72]

Issuing a statement, Minister Malik Samarawickrama said he will step down as Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade.[73]

Minister of Megapolis and Western Development, Patali Champika Ranawaka, resigned from his ministerial portfolio. In a letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, he stated that he took this decision with respect to the people's mandate.[74]

International reactions

[edit]
Supranational bodies
  •  European Union – A statement was issued noting that Sri Lanka's election process was peaceful and confirmed the stability of the democratic institutions, while adding the EU was looking forward to working with the new President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to continue improving human rights, reconciliation and good governance. While congratulating President Rajapaksa, the EU assured that it will remain fully supportive of the broader reform agenda in Sri Lanka.[75]
Nations
  •  China – Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang expressed congratulations on the election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.[76]
  •  India – Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted after Premadasa had conceded defeat, congratulating Rajapaksa.[77]
  •  Japan – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan announced that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a congratulatory message and expressed his intentions to further develop Japan–Sri Lanka relations with Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the new President of Sri Lanka.[78]
  •  Iran – Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi congratulated the Sri Lankan nation and president-elect on holding presidential elections successfully.[79]
  •  Maldives – President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was the first world leader to congratulate Rajapaksa on his "resounding election victory".[77]
  •  Pakistan – Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement stating: "The Government and leadership of Pakistan warmly felicitate the newly-elected President".[80]
  •  Singapore – Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong issued a statement stating: "I am confident that you will be able to steward Sri Lanka through these challenges ably, and that Sri Lanka will make progress in achieving lasting peace and prosperity under your Presidency."[81]
  •  Russia – President Vladimir Putin issued a statement stating: "The Russian-Sri Lankan relations are of traditionally friendly nature, I wish you every success, good health and prosperity."[82]
  •  United States – The U.S. Embassy in Colombo in a statement said that "We commend the Elections Commission, civil society and government authorities for promoting a peaceful election. We are ready to continue our work with the new President and with all the people of Sri Lanka in supporting the country's sovereignty through heightened good governance, expanded economic growth, the advancement of human rights and reconciliation, and in fostering an Indo-Pacific region where all countries can prosper."[83]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ New Democratic Front candidate led by the United National Party
  2. ^ The SLMC contested separately in 46 LA's and with the UNF in other LA's.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Presidential poll between Nov. 9 and Dec. 9: EC". www.dailymirror.lk. Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 13 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Possibility of a snap presidential election anytime after 9 January 2019 ::. Latest Sri Lanka News". ONLANKA News :. Latest Sri Lanka Breaking News Updates | Sri Lanka News. 28 May 2018. Archived from the original on 8 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "Gota wins presidential nomination from SLPP and its allies". The Sunday Times Sri Lanka. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "SLFP to support Rajapaksa". newsfirst.lk. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Sajith Premadasa stakes claim for Sri Lanka UNP candidacy". www.economynext.com. Archived from the original on 2019-08-19. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  6. ^ a b "Ranil agrees to give Sajith candidacy". adaderana.lk. September 25, 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-11-26. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  7. ^ "November Lanka polls to test India's presence in southern Indian Ocean region". Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury. The Economic Times. 21 October 2019. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Gotabaya Rajapaksa wins the election as Premadasa concedes defeat to the former". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  9. ^ "Presidential Elections Act, No 15 of 1981" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-08-03. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  10. ^ Gajanayake, Manjula; Siriwardana, Thusitha; Isuranga, Hirantha; Jayasinghe, Pasan (2019). "2019 Sri Lankan Presidential Election: Election Observation Report" (PDF). Centre for Monitoring Election Violence. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Sri Lanka Freedom Party regional convention backs Sirisena for presidential poll". www.economynext.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
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