“I offer my grateful thanks to all parties and individuals who worked untiringly during the election period to ensure victory for the people“, Wickremesinghe said in a statement.
Advertisement
Initial results suggest that his United National Party has won enough seats to form a coalition with its allies.
Although the final result is yet to be announced, election authorities said the UNP will fall short of a simple majority of 113 in the 225-member assembly.
Till January this year, Mr. Rajapaksa, was president of the island nation for over nine years, for Monday’s polls was the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA)’s prime ministerial candidate.
Rajapaksa received 47.58% of the vote in January’s presidential elections, beaten by former ally Sirisena, who was supported by the then opposition United National Party (UNP).
Rajapaksa was attempting a comeback after his shocking loss to Maithripala Sirisena, a member of his own party, in January’s presidential election.
The former president also told his aides that he expected Wickremesinghe to lure some of his MPs to cobble a majority in parliament.
Mahinda Rajapaksa’s UPFA won only eight electoral districts against ruling UNP winning 11 districts.
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.
“He looks forward to continuing to work with the President, the prime minister and the government in support of building long-term peace and prosperity for the country”, the statement said. He accused Rajapaksa of misrule, corruption and nepotism.
Sri Lanka’s elections chief Mahinda Deshapriya has been hailed by independent monitors and the media as the “man of the match” in Monday’s parliamentary elections, but the delay in concluding the vote is causing anxiety.
Mr Rajapaksa said he feared that Mr Wickremesinghe’s UNP, which is set to secure the highest number of seats in the parliament, may try to secure defections from the opposition.
Advertisement
The new president is viewed as being pro-west, as is his party, recently hosting both Secretary of State John Kerry and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
