70 pc turnout in Lanka,low in Tamil areas

The counting started Tuesday night with early trends expected to be available around midnight. Results are expected to be announced on Wednesday.

Rajapaksa,64,had called the election two years ahead of schedule apparently to cash in on the military victory over the LTTE,but an acrimonious campaign was witnessed between him and his former military chief Fonseka.

The joint opposition candidate Fonseka said he was unable to vote as his name was not on the electoral list,prompting statements from the ruling party lawmakers that he could face disqualification.

However,Election Commissioner Dayananada Dissanayaka released a statement stating that a candidate need not be a registered voter nor cast his vote in order to be eligible to run for office. Dissanayaka said Fonseka,59,would not face disqualification if duly elected. This is the first presidential election in Sri Lanka since 1972 that was held without the shadow of the Tamil Tigers and a high voter turnout of 65 to 70 per cent was reported,sources said.

According to Sri Lankas Election Monitor voting turnout in the eastern province was between 50 and 60 per cent but in the former LTTE bastions Killinochchi and Mullaithivu a meagre 10 per cent voter turned out to cast their ballot. In the northern provincial city of Jaffna too a little over 20 per cent votes were cast.

Inadequate transportation facilities to ferry the resettled voters was also said to be a reason for the low turnout in northern areas. While large turnouts were reported elsewhere,in the northern district of Vavuniya many internally displaced Tamils were left with no transport facilities to take them to their respective polling divisions.

Themiya Hurulle of the New Democratic Front said this happened despite earlier assurances by the government that their transport will be taken care of. According to opposition leader Ranil Wickeramasinghe the poll was by and large peaceful.

Two petrol bombs were hurled in Velvetthurai in Jaffna early in the morning, military spokesperson Udaya Nanayakkara said.

Earlier after Fonseka failed to cast his vote questions were raised whether he could not exercise his franchise as he was a green card holder in the US. I want the people to know that I am fully qualified under article 31 of the constitution to contest for the Presidential Election, he said.

Rajapaksa cast his vote in his hometown of Tangelle in Southern coast of Sri Lanka.

Independent poll monitors said minor incidents of disruption and violence were reported early in the day.