<p>Vanquished Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s hopes of staging a political comeback were shattered on Tuesday when his party lost a closely-fought parliamentary election to incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The premier’s United National Party (UNP) won a total of 106 seats in the 225-member assembly, falling short of an absolute majority by just seven seats, but enough to form a government.<br /><br />Rajapaksa’s United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) came second, securing 95 seats. <br />The minority Tamil National Alliance (TNA) swept the ethnic Tamil-majority Northern and Eastern provinces with 16 seats.<br /><br />Election analysts had predicted that the UNP would fall short of an absolute majority of 113 by just four seats.<br /><br />The 69-year-old two-time president, Rajapaksa, was quoted as saying he conceded defeat “after a good fight”.<br /><br />President Maithripala Sirisena, who defeated Rajapaksa in the January 8 presidential polls, had earlier vowed not to make the former strongman premier even if his UPFA secured a majority.<br /><br />Prime minister-designate Wickremesinghe said the UNP’s victory was a mandate by the people for good governance.<br /><br />“I offer my grateful thanks to all parties and individuals who worked untiringly during the election period to ensure victory for the people. We have been able to create a peaceful atmosphere needed for a free and fair election,” the 66-year-old leader said.<br /><br />He said the people have backed the “revolution” achieved in January, and want it to continue.<br /><br />“We have to work united towards lifting the nation to new heights by facing challenges of the new era. I invite all of you to join hands with us to face the challenges of our mission,” said Wickremesinghe.<br /><br />He was set to take oath in a simple ceremony at the Presidential Secretariat. <br />The cabinet of the national government was to be appointed later.<br /><br />A group of Sirisena supporters is likely to join a broad-based national unity government led by Wickremesinghe, who was appointed as premier soon after the former came to power.<br /><br />A total of 196 Parliament members are elected for a five-year term while 29 are appointed based on the national proportion of votes polled by each party. <br /><br />Change of order<br />Defeat for Rajapaksa will keep Sri Lanka on a non-aligned foreign policy course and loosen its ties with China, which during his rule pumped in billions of dollars to try to turn the Indian Ocean island into a maritime outpost.<br /><br />After him, Sirisena and Wickremesinghe have made concerted efforts to improve ties with India.<br /><br />Rajapaksa could now be confronted with a judicial reckoning, along with two brothers who held high office, for alleged corruption and abuse of power during his decade in office. They have denied any wrongdoing.<br /></p>
<p>Vanquished Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s hopes of staging a political comeback were shattered on Tuesday when his party lost a closely-fought parliamentary election to incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The premier’s United National Party (UNP) won a total of 106 seats in the 225-member assembly, falling short of an absolute majority by just seven seats, but enough to form a government.<br /><br />Rajapaksa’s United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) came second, securing 95 seats. <br />The minority Tamil National Alliance (TNA) swept the ethnic Tamil-majority Northern and Eastern provinces with 16 seats.<br /><br />Election analysts had predicted that the UNP would fall short of an absolute majority of 113 by just four seats.<br /><br />The 69-year-old two-time president, Rajapaksa, was quoted as saying he conceded defeat “after a good fight”.<br /><br />President Maithripala Sirisena, who defeated Rajapaksa in the January 8 presidential polls, had earlier vowed not to make the former strongman premier even if his UPFA secured a majority.<br /><br />Prime minister-designate Wickremesinghe said the UNP’s victory was a mandate by the people for good governance.<br /><br />“I offer my grateful thanks to all parties and individuals who worked untiringly during the election period to ensure victory for the people. We have been able to create a peaceful atmosphere needed for a free and fair election,” the 66-year-old leader said.<br /><br />He said the people have backed the “revolution” achieved in January, and want it to continue.<br /><br />“We have to work united towards lifting the nation to new heights by facing challenges of the new era. I invite all of you to join hands with us to face the challenges of our mission,” said Wickremesinghe.<br /><br />He was set to take oath in a simple ceremony at the Presidential Secretariat. <br />The cabinet of the national government was to be appointed later.<br /><br />A group of Sirisena supporters is likely to join a broad-based national unity government led by Wickremesinghe, who was appointed as premier soon after the former came to power.<br /><br />A total of 196 Parliament members are elected for a five-year term while 29 are appointed based on the national proportion of votes polled by each party. <br /><br />Change of order<br />Defeat for Rajapaksa will keep Sri Lanka on a non-aligned foreign policy course and loosen its ties with China, which during his rule pumped in billions of dollars to try to turn the Indian Ocean island into a maritime outpost.<br /><br />After him, Sirisena and Wickremesinghe have made concerted efforts to improve ties with India.<br /><br />Rajapaksa could now be confronted with a judicial reckoning, along with two brothers who held high office, for alleged corruption and abuse of power during his decade in office. They have denied any wrongdoing.<br /></p>