Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse has won his country's presidential election by a narrow margin, an election official said today.
With all ballots counted, Mr Rajapakse, hard-liner toward Tamil rebels, received 50 per cent of the vote, said the member of the Election Commission.
Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe received 48 per cent. Eleven other candidates split the remaining ballots. A formal announcement of the results was scheduled for later today.
The Prime Minister's Office appealed to the Sri Lankan people "to behave peacefully and celebrate the victory without harming opponents."
Balloting was smooth yesterday in western and southern parts of the island nation, and overall turnout was 75 per cent, election officials said.
But in the north and east - territory of the feared Tamil Tiger rebels - grenade attacks, roadblocks and fear kept many Tamils from voting. Others heeded a boycott called by pro-rebel groups, who complained neither of the main candidates would help them win a homeland in northeastern Sri Lanka.
The Tamils, whose plight is at the heart of a civil war that has lasted more than two decades, make up just under 20 per cent of Sri Lanka's 19 million people but were potential kingmakers in the tightly contested election.
AP