Journalism of Courage
Sri Lanka celebrates Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidential election win
1 / 6Sri Lanka People’s Front candidate and the country’s former defence secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was Sunday declared winner in its presidential poll, garnering 52.25 per cent votes. (AP)
You need a subscription to read this story. Republic Day Sale: Annual pack at Rs 999Already a subscriber? Sign In
This content is exclusive for our subscribers.Subscribe to get unlimited access to The Indian Express exclusive and premium stories.
2 / 6Gotabaya’s win marks the return to the helm of the powerful Rajapaksa family — known for its pro-China tilt — amid turmoil in the country following the Easter Sunday terror attacks that killed 269 people. (Reuters)
3 / 6Rajapaksa, 70, who will succeed President Maithripala Sirisena, urged his supporters to “rejoice peacefully” after his closest rival, Sajith Premadasa, conceded the polls even before the official results were announced by the Elections Commission. (Reuters)
4 / 6Rajapaksa’s supporters celebrate after he won the presidential election in Colombo, on Sunday. (Reuters)
5 / 6Rajapaksa swept the polls in the Sinhala majority districts, while Premadasa won most of the votes from the Tamil-dominated north and east of the country. (Reuters)
6 / 6As a former Army officer who served as Sri Lanka’s defence secretary when his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa was President, Gotabaya led the military campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam between 2007 and 2009, which ended with the final defeat of the Tigers, and the killing of its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. (Reuters)
