Rajapaksa’s United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) came second, securing 95 seats in Monday’s parliamentary elections, won by incumbent Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Front (UNF) with 106 seats.
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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.
Official figures showed the same breakdown of results.The remaining three districts were dominated by a minority Tamil party, officials said, adding that no party was set to secure an absolute majority of 113 seats in the 225-member parliament following Monday’s election.
Rajapaksa who lost the presidency in January to his former Health Minister, Maithripala Sirisena, won his seat as MP – but the results mean he will be staying on the opposition benches.
The prime minister is now expected to form the next government, although his party will need to rely on allies to pass bills including democratic reforms promised at the presidential poll in January.
Buddhika Weerasinghe-Getty Images Former Sri Lankan president and parliamentary candidate Mahinda Rajapaksa attends his party’s rally on the final day of the election campaign on August 14, 2015 in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
A group of Sirisena supporters is likely to join a broad-based national unity government led by Wickremesinghe.
He had expressed confidence he could return to power as prime minister. The island nation’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa conceded defeat. “We arrested 32 people today for trying to impersonate and for other minor offenses”, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said. Some now face investigations or lawsuits on allegations of corruption, misuse of power and even murder.
He was hailed by many in among the country’s majority Sinhalese ethnic population as a warrior king for defeating Tamil Tiger separatists to end a almost 26-year civil war.
He was also accused of widespread human rights abuses and suppressing freedoms.
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Rajapaksa abolished the two-term limit for presidents when he was in office, but lost his bid in January for a third term when Sirisena staged an unexpected challenge.
