He told AFP that his dream of becoming prime minister of Sri Lanka had faded.
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Early results of Monday’s election suggested the SLFP’s main rival, the United National Party (UNP) is likely to gain ground in the 225 seat parliament.
A senior Rajapaksa ally was more fatalistic: “We have lost the election”, Udaya Prabhath Gammanpila, who was contesting in Colombo, said in a Facebook post.
Wickremesinghe had described Monday’s vote as a referendum on Rajapakse, who was bullish about his chances on polling day, but admitted on Tuesday it had been a “difficult fight”.
A political party or a coalition must have at least 113 seats to be able to form a government, meaning Wickremesinghe will have to seek some support.
Election Commissioner Deshapriya said he expected the release of the final party positions by midday Tuesday, while individual votes garnered by candidates would be announced later.
President Sirisena voted in the north central town of Polonnaruwa while Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe exercised his franchise here and expressed confidence over winning the polls.
The 69-year-old Rajapaksa, expected to lead a rump parliamentary opposition, told Reuters earlier he would “support good policies and oppose bad things”.
Rajapaksa did not immediately comment on his defeat.
Election officials said the UNP had bagged 11 of the 22 districts from where results were available.
Rajapakse remains hugely popular among large sections of the majority Sinhalese community for presiding over the crushing defeat of Tamil guerrillas in 2009 after their 37-year war for a separate homeland.
Rajapaksa had been seeking to prolong his rule after abolishing a two-term limit for presidents when he lost in his attempt to win a third term.
His opponents blamed his defeat on nepotism and huge corruption, and the new government launched several investigations into charges he and his family siphoned off billions of dollars.
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena had sent out strong indications that he was unwilling to appoint Rajapaksa, his predecessor, as the island’s next prime minister, even if Rajapaksa had led the UPFA to an electoral victory.
The logjam that was in the Parliament is slated to be resolved as UNP (United National Party) is already in power through its elected President.
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The power struggle between the past and present presidents overshadowed the election in a country with a history of political feuding that has often spilled over into violence and even the assassination of its leaders.
