Addressing a gathering on Wednesday, Wickremesinghe said he will continue the mandate for good governance given in parliamentary polls and work together with all parties in a national government for 2-3 years.
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Election authorities said the UNP will fall short of an absolute majority of 113 by at least four seats in the 225-member Parliament.
The United People’s Freedom Alliance, the party led by the incumbent president, Maithripala Sirisena, who ousted Rajapaksa in a surprise January presidential election result, looks set to control a powerful minority government nonetheless.
Rajapaksa loyalists in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party compelled an unwilling Sirisena to nominate him for the election, but Sirisena vowed not to appoint Rajapaksa prime minister even if he won a majority.
Early returns from Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections indicate former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s bid to regain power is likely to fail. “I invite all of you to join hands with us to face the challenges of our mission”, Wickremesinghe said.
“We are winning and I am confident of forming the government”, Rajapaksa said “My message is to remain calm and peacefully enjoy our victory”.
“We are happy to say that elections took place in a well-organised manner and we congratulate the new elected members of the parliament”, the EU mission said in a statement.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Tuesday applauded the people of Sri Lanka for their peaceful and broad-based participation in the parliamentary elections.
Sirisena was Rajapaksa’s health minister until he came forward as the opposition unity candidate to challenge the then president past year.
Since the presidential election loss, there has been a reversal of fortunes for Rajapaksa, his family and friends, who were once all powerful controllers of the island nation. Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Front (UNF) won the election.
Wickremesinghe said in a statement his party’s win was “an endorsement to rule the country by consensus”.
Rajapakse had been hoping to make a comeback as prime minister but has already conceded defeat, telling AFP that the UNP had an unassailable lead even though the results have yet to be declared.
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Both Jaffna and Vanni districts, which saw thousands of deaths in the end stages of armed conflict that ended in 2009, voted for the TNA, which is expected to ally with Wickremesinghe.
