Presidential elections were held in Sri Lanka on 26 January 2010. They were the sixth presidential elections held in the country's history, and the first to be held following the conclusion of the Sri Lankan civil war. Incumbent president Mahinda Rajapaksa of the governing United People's Freedom Alliance was re-elected with 57.88% of the vote, defeating his main opponent Sarath Fonseka of the New Democratic Front, an opposition coalition backed by the United National Party. Fonseka received 40.15% of the vote, carrying the formerly LTTE-occupied Northern and Eastern Provinces. The remaining twenty candidates each garnered less than 0.5% of the popular vote.
The elections were announced on 23 November 2009 when president Rajapaksa decided to seek a fresh mandate prior to the expiration of his term in 2011. Nominations were accepted on 17 December 2009.
Background In 2005, Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected to his first 6-year term as president, defeating opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, the United National Party (UNP) candidate. Prior to the election, Mahinda Rajapaksa served as prime minister under president Chandrika Kumaratunga from 2004 to 2005. Rajapaksa won a narrow victory, winning 50.29% of the popular vote, and beating Wickremesinghe by a margin of a little more than 180,000 votes. The separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam had called for a boycott of the election in the Northern and Eastern provinces, resulting in a minimal turnout, which the opposition claimed resulted in their defeat.
The term of the office of the president is 6 years, and the 3rd Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka allows the president to call for an early presidential election after four years into their first term of office. Rajapaksa, whose first term began on 19 November 2005, had been constitutionally eligible to call an early presidential election since 19 November 2009. Accordingly, Rajapaksa informed the Commissioner of Elections about his intention to hold a presidential election before the end of his current term of office. He announced his intention via a Gazette Extraordinary, issued on 23 November 2009.
The elections would be the first presidential elections to be held in Sri Lanka since the end of the Sri Lankan civil war.
Preparations On 27 November 2009, Dayananda Dissanayake, Commissioner of Elections, issued that the presidential election would be scheduled for 26 January 2010. Nominations were accepted from 9.00am to 11.00am IST on 17 December 2009. Sri Lankans registered with the Department of Elections, and eligible to vote, totaled 14,088,500, a significant increase from 13,327,160 in the previous presidential elections held in 2005. Over 11,000 polling booths were set up across the country for receiving ballots.
Candidates Mahinda Rajapaksa In May 2009, the Sri Lanka Army tactfully defeated separatist the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, thus bringing an end to the 26-year long Sri Lankan civil war. A promise Sri Lanka's previous three presidents tried and failed to secure, the war victory greatly boosted the popularity of incumbent president Mahinda Rajapaksa, thus leading Rajapaksa's United People's Freedom Alliance to unprecedented victories in the provincial council elections following the war's end.
In November 2009, Rajapaksa called for an early presidential election almost two years prior to the expiration of his first term, and sought a fresh mandate and a longer term based on his current widespread support and popularity.
Sarath Fonseka General Sarath Fonseka was considered a national hero for bringing an end to the Sri Lankan civil war as Commander of the Sri Lanka Army from 2005 to 2009. However, following the war victory, tensions grew between Fonseka and the incumbent president, with the former accusing Rajapaksa of sidelining him after the end of the war. Opposition parties expected early elections and approached Fonseka, asking him to run as a "common candidate" for the opposition against Rajapaksa.
After weeks of rumours, Fonseka eventually retired from the military in November 2009 and announced his candidacy two weeks later. He ran as the candidate of the New Democratic Front, using the swan symbol. He was backed by a number of opposition parties, including the United National Party, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, and also signed a memorandum of understanding with Tamil National Alliance leader R. Sampanthan.
Minor candidates Apart from Rajapaksa and Fonseka, 20 other candidates had their nominations accepted, and appeared on ballot papers. One nomination—Nelson Perera of the Sri Lanka Progressive Front—was rejected on technical grounds. This was the most candidates in a Sri Lankan presidential election at the time, breaking the record of 13 in the 2005 presidential election.
Candidate Party Symbol Notes Siritunga Jayasuriya United Socialist Party Tri-shaw Presidential candidate in 2005. M. B. Thaminimulla Okkoma Wasiyo Okkoma Rajavaru Sanvidhanaya Till Sarath Manamendra New Sinhala Heritage Bow and arrow Achala Ashoka Suraweera National Development Front Coconut Presidential candidate in 2005. A. S. P. Liyanage Sri Lanka Labour Party Kangaroo Ven. Battaramulle Seelaratne Thero Jana Setha Peramuna Tractor Withdrew candidacy on 14 January and endorsed Mahinda Rajapaksa. Vikramabahu Karunaratne Left Front Table Leader of the Left Front and Nava Sama Samaja Party. Aithurus M. Illias Independent Pineapple Former SLMC MP for Jaffna. Withdrew candidacy on 24 January and endorsed Sarath Fonseka. Wije Dias Socialist Equality Party Pair of scissors Presidential candidate in 2005. Upali Sarath Kongahage United National Alternative Front Gate Former UNP National List MP. Lal Perera Our National Front Telephone Mohamed Musthaffa Independent Hat UNP National List MP and former Deputy Minister of Higher Education. Withdrew candidacy on 15 January and endorsed Sarath Fonseka. M. K. Shivajilingam Independent Ship TNA/TELO MP for Jaffna. W. M. U. B. Wijekoon Independent Jackfruit Former UNP MP for Kurunegala. M. C. M. Ismail Democratic United National Front Eagle Aruna de Zoyza Ruhunu People's Party Motor car Presidential candidate in 2005. Sanath Pinnaduwa National Alliance Double flags Adurage Senaratne Silva Patriotic National Front Flag C. J. Sugathsiri Gamage United Democratic Front Rabbit W. V. Mahiman Ranjith Independent Closet Former UNP MP for Galle. Presidential candidate in 1999.
Violence and violations of election laws Sri Lankan police received nearly 975 election-related complaints, and 375 arrests were made relative thereto. The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) had recorded 809 incidents from 23 November 2009, when the elections were officially announced, to 25 January 2010. People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) recorded 666 incidents between 17 December 2009 and 25 January 2010. The UN, United States, and EU expressed concern over the levels of electoral violence. Election monitoring groups stated that the election was the most violent election the country had seen in more than 20 years. Although supporters of both main candidates were blamed for the incidents, the responsibility for most was pinned on Rajapaksa supporters. However, government politician Wimal Weerawansa accused the opposition of orchestrating violence against their own supporters and meetings in order to blame Rajapaksa supporters. According to the National Polls Observation Center, criminal gangs and deserters from the army were employed to incite violence.
The government promised tight security on the day of the election, deploying over 68,000 policemen to keep the polls safe, with the Sri Lankan Military providing additional support. The election monitoring group Centre for Free and Fair Elections deployed 6,500 monitors on election day, with the PAFFREL deploying a further 6,000, including 14 foreign monitors. The government denied rumours of possible post-election violence, with Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama saying, "I don't think the people of Sri Lanka have time for street protests. It has never happened."
Election day was largely peaceful, with a few minor incidents reported. According to Inspector General of Police Mahinda Balasuriya, no major incidents occurred during the election. A number of explosions, however, were heard in Jaffna and Vavuniya in the north of the country during the day.
Violence There were hundreds of violent incidents during the run-up to the election. Officially, there were four murders related to the election: 12 January 2010 – Kusumawathie Kuruppuarachchi, a 58-year-old mother was shot dead when gunmen on motorbikes opened fire on a bus carrying Fonseka supporters in Hungama, Hambantota District. 16 January 2010 – Saman Kumara, a Rajapaksa supporter, was shot dead in a clash between supporters of the two main candidates in Madurankuliya, Puttalam District. 18 January 2010 – Dhammika Herath, a 33-year-old businessman, was beaten to death whilst pasting posters supporting Fonseka in Wariyapola, Kurunegala District. 18 January 2010 – D. M. Suranga Indrajith, a 27-year-old driver for government minister Jayarathna Herath, was killed in a grenade attack in Vanduragala, Kurunegala District.
The CMEV has linked a fifth death to the elections: 19 January 2010 – Lingeswaran, a Fonseka supporter, was found dead on the Kandy-Matale railway line in Warapitiya, Matale District.
Misuse of state resources There were accusations of widespread misuse of state property during the election campaign. Election observers and advocacy groups questioned the fundamental fairness of the campaign, accusing Rajapaksa of using state resources to finance his run. State-owned institutions paid for numerous advertisements supporting Rajapaksa, while public officials, state owned buildings and vehicles were allegedly used for Rajapaksa's campaign. State-owned television stations and news channels gave extensive coverage to Rajapaksa's campaign, with little to no mention of opposition candidates. Election commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake criticised the government for their misuse of state resources. Dissanayake claimed that the state media violated his guidelines, government institutions misbehaved, and in protest Dissanayake asked for approval to resign: "I request to be released," he said, just after he announced the results.
Voting Postal voting for the presidential election took place on 12 and 13 January 2010. A grace period was granted until noon on 26 January for postal voters. Applications for this form of absentee voting totalled 458,154, with 401,118 applications accepted by the Elections Department. More than 80% of postal voters cast their votes on 12 and 13 January, this period ending with "no major incidents" according to the National Polls Observation Centre and the People's Action for Free and Fair Election (PAFFREL).
Voting for the presidential election began at 7:00 am on 26 January 2010. A total of 11,098 election centres and 888 counting centres were set up throughout the country. The Elections Commissioner had requested that voters cast their ballots early in the day.