Maithripala achieves ousting of Rajapaksa
Maithripala Sirisena has been sworn in as Sri Lanka's new president
following a bitter election that saw the ousting of leader Mahinda
Rajapakse after a decade in power.
Sirisena and his new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe both took
the oath of office in Colombo's Independence Square on Friday hours
after Rajapakse conceded defeat in what is being touted as one of the
most peaceful in the island's history.
The election was dominated by charges of corruption and growing
authoritarianism against Rajapakse, who rewrote the constitution after
his re-election in 2010 to remove the two-term limit on the presidency
and give himself more powers over public servants and judges.
Sirisena said on Friday after taking the oath of office that Sri
Lanka, which fell out with the West over allegations of wartime rights
abuses, will mend its ties with the international community.
"We will have a foreign policy that will mend our ties with the
international community and all international organisations in order
that we derive maximum benefit for our people," he said.
Ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, Rajapakse conceded defeat in an
election he had been widely predicted to win before Sirisena, a member
of his own party, defected to run against him.
"The president met with former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe
this morning," Rajapaksa's press secretary, Vijayananda Herath, told AFP
news agency.
"The president concedes defeat and will ensure a smooth transition of
power bowing to the wishes of the people."
Sirisena, a former health minister and political ally of Rajapaksa,
took an early lead in Thursday's election count, with the Department of
Elections saying he had 56.5 percent of the initial votes counted,
compared to 42 percent collected by the incumbent.
"It seems as if they have voted for political change in this country
that has seen a leader lead this country for more than ten years," our
correspondent said.Sirisena, who deserted the president and changed
sides to become the opposition's candidate in November, has vowed to
root out corruption andbring constitutional reforms to weaken the power
of the presidency.
Rajapaksa won handsomely in the last election in 2010, surfing a wave
of popularity that sprang from the defeat in the previous year of ethnic
Tamil separatists who had waged a crippling war against the state for
decades.
But critics say he became increasingly authoritarian since becoming
president, with several members of his family holding key positions of
power.
Despite his waning popularity, Rajapaksa called the latest election
early, confident that the fractured opposition would fail to find a
credible challenger.
He did not anticipate the emergence of Sirisena, who dined with the
president one night and defected the next day.
Minority Tamils are believed to have voted heavily against Rajapaksa
after he ignored their demands to heal the wounds of the fighting and
years of ethnic divisions.
The main Tamil party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), backed
Sirisena's candidacy and said it was grateful to its supporters for
electing their choice for the top job.
Rajapakse was strongly resented among Tamils in Sri Lanka after
ordering a brutal military suppression of a separatist insurgency in
which thousands of civilians are said to have died.
Muslims, the second-largest ethnic minority, also appear to have
voted against the former president, who was accused of turning a blind
eye to attacks on Muslims and other minorities by far-right Buddhist
groups.
And for the country's Sinhalese, which make up about three-quarters
of the population, Sirisena's entry into the race gave them another
credible option amid Rajapaksa's growing authoritarianism and move
towards dynasty politics.
Election officials said the turnout from an electorate of about 15
million was provisionally 65 to 80 percent.
- Al Jazeera and agencies
|