Sri Lankan ex-president hopes to make a comeback

Sri Lanka held a parliamentary election on Monday in which ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa was trying to stage a political comeback, as the leader who toppled him in January manoeuvred to block his path back to power.

The nationalist strongman has set his sights on becoming premier of a government led by his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). But the former ally who beat him at the polls, president Maithripala Sirisena, leads the party and rules that out.

Power struggle

Their power struggle has overshadowed the election on the Indian Ocean island of 20 million people, which has a history of political feuding that has often spilled over into violence. Seeking to head off pressure to name

Mr Rajapaksa

premier should he win an overwhelming mandate, Mr Sirisena fired two dozen members of the SLFP’s executive committee loyal to his predecessor.

The decision, made after voting ended, drew a swift response from the Rajapaksa camp: "This action is not democratic, neither is it constitutional," Dinesh Gunawardene, a senior ally of the ex-president, said.

With no exit polls available, first trends were expected from counting overnight with final results on Tuesday. Turnout, estimated by observers at 65 per cent, was below that of the historic presidential poll but higher than five years ago.

Passing reforms

Mr Sirisena, in a cross-party alliance with a government led by the

United National Party

(UNP), sought to break with the past by passing reforms to weaken his own presidency and make the government more open and accountable.

Some voters in Colombo said they were casting their ballots for reconciliation and good governance, showing sympathy for the UNP of prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Minority Tamils and Muslims have rallied behind the UNP-led alliance, which pundits say has the best chance of forming the largest bloc in the 225-seat parliament.

Mr Wickremesinghe said he was confident of beating Mr Rajapaksa. “He has lost already,” he said. “I haven’t got to worry any more about Rajapaksa –in a free and fair election, we can hold him.” Mr Rajapaksa voted in his southern home district.The 69-year-old is revered as a war hero by many of Sri Lanka’s Sinhala-speaking Buddhist majority for crushing a 26-year Tamil uprising in 2009. Opponents accuse him of running a corrupt, brutal and dynastic regime – charges he denies.Sirisena quit Rajapaksa’s government last year to run against him, pulling off a stunning victory in the Jan. 8 presidential election.

Yet he has moved only belatedly to assert his control over the SLFP and thwart the ambitions of his erstwhile ally and party rival to become Sri Lanka’s next prime minister.

Mr Sirisena, (63), used his power to suspend the general secretaries of the party and its poll alliance, both Rajapaksa men, just before the election.

That decision was challenged by the SLFP’s executive committee. In response, Sirisena on Monday fired 25 committee members who were loyal to Rajapaksa, according to both camps.

– (Reuters)