Hope and fear battle for supremacy in Sri Lanka’s presidential election campaign

Sri Lanka’s common presidential candidate Mithripala Sirisena gestures as he addresses the nation at his party’s office in Colombo, 5 January 2015. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

By Alan Keenan | @akeenan23-5 January 2015

As the clock ticks down to Sri Lanka’s 8 January presidential election, voters appear to face a clear choice between an incumbent committed to increasingly centralised presidential authority and an opposition pledging to reverse that trend and restore power to the legislature. Following a month of often bitter campaigning, fears are growing the vote could be marred by polling-day abuses and possible post-election violence and fraud. The campaign has already seen frequent attacks on opposition rallies and supporters and what appears to have been a significant level of misuse of state resources by the incumbent, President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The growing possibility of an opposition victory looks set to heighten risks over both the integrity of the vote and post-election stability.
Hope and Fear Battle for Supremacy in Sri Lanka’s Presidential Election Campaign by Thavam Ratna