High turnout in Sri Lanka’s presidential election

Turnout in many provinces may have been as high as a record 80 per cent in the “generally peaceful” election.

Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa gestures outside a polling station in his home town of Tangalla, on January 8, 2015. AFP PHOTO / LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI

Colombo // Sri Lankans turned out in large numbers on Thursday to vote in the island’s tightest election in decades as President Mahinda Rajapakse battles for survival.

Mr Rajapaksa, 69, called the election in November two years ahead of schedule in a bid to consolidate power after his party saw its popularity fall in recent by-elections. Maithripala Sirisena, 63, deserted the president’s camp the next day to lead a group of opposition parties seeking to oust him.

An opposition victory would signal a change in course for the island nation, which has seen Mr Rajapaksa scrap term limits and strengthen his grip over the judiciary, military and bureaucracy. He has also shifted toward China in the face of US criticism of human rights abuses after he oversaw the end of Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war in 2009.

Turnout across seven of Sri Lanka’s nine provinces may have been as high as a record 80 per cent in the “generally peaceful” election, said Manjula Gajanayake, national coordinator for the privately-run Centre for Monitoring Election Violence. In areas of the north and east where Tamils dominate, it may have been nearer to 50 per cent, he said.

“I hope for better governance, an independent judiciary, and an independent public service,” said Milroy Perera, 52, who chauffeurs tourists and voted near the capital Colombo. “If we at least get that it will be more than enough.”

Mr Sirisena has gained the support of more than 10 per cent of ruling-party parliamentarians since resigning as health minister in November. His coalition has the backing of the main groups representing Tamil and Muslim minorities, which account for about 30 per cent of the island’s 20.4 million people.

“A win for Sirisena would mean Sri Lanka would move away from a highly centralised governance to a more participatory form,” said Jehan Perera, executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, a group that promotes ethnic reconciliation. “If Rajapaksa wins he will probably try to be more authoritarian because the election campaign has shown an unprecedented challenge to his moral authority.”

While few reliable opinion polls have been available, risk assessor Eurasia Group says Mr Sirisena has picked up key allies and will probably prevail over Mr Rajapaksa.

If Mr Sirisena wins, he will have to focus on political rather than economic reform to keep his “disparate” alliance together.

“My administration will take Sri Lanka toward an economy that is well-suited to the modern world,” Mr Sirisena said in a campaign rally on Monday. He has pledged to end nepotism and corruption, ensure religious harmony, and wean the nation away from a reliance on funding from China and other countries that “endangers” Sri Lanka’s economic security.

Mr Rajapaksa has touted his record of economic development in asking voters to give him an unprecedented third six-year term. He has criticised Mr Sirisena’s proposal to cancel a Chinese-backed port investment and said he would nationalise more private companies if he wins.

“Put your future and your children’s future in my hands,” he said in his final campaign speech. Mr Rajapaksa won the last presidential election in January 2010 with about 60 per cent of the 10.4 million votes cast, the biggest majority in 16 years. He defeated his former army commander who helped end the island’s bloody insurgency.

*Bloomberg