{"id":36997,"date":"2015-01-08T19:37:31","date_gmt":"2015-01-09T00:37:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=36997"},"modified":"2015-01-08T19:37:31","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T00:37:31","slug":"minority-community-votes-may-hold-the-key-to-victory-as-tightly-contested-presidential-poll-ends-in-sri-lanka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=36997","title":{"rendered":"Minority Community Votes May Hold the Key to Victory as Tightly Contested Presidential Poll Ends in Sri Lanka"},"content":{"rendered":"

By
\nMeera Srinivasan
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sri Lanka witnessed a largely peaceful presidential election on Thursday. There were a few sporadic explosions in the island\u2019s north, but no injury or damage was reported. The voter turnout \u2014 yet to be officially declared \u2014 could possibly equal or even surpass the 2010 election\u2019s 74.49 per cent.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka follows the ballot-paper system, and counting began on Thursday evening. <\/p>\n

A clear picture of the poll results is likely to emerge on Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

At least two grenade attacks were reported in the Tamil-majority region \u2014 Point Pedro in the Jaffna Peninsula and Vavuniya \u2014 but no one was injured. Despite the explosions, which police said they were investigating, voters came out enthusiastically, said Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya.<\/p>\n

Colombo, too, saw polling booths teeming with people on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n

According to local media reports, a huge voter turnout, said to be nearly 80 per cent, was reported in Hambantota and Matara in southern Sri Lanka, where incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa enjoys a strong support base.<\/p>\n

Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, where his principal challenger Maithripala Sirisena is hugely popular, saw a similarly high voter-presence at polling booths.<\/p>\n

Minorities\u2019 votes may hold the key<\/strong><\/p>\n

While Sri Lanka witnessed largely peaceful presidential elections on Thursday, some sections had flagged concerns about possible intimidation of voters by the army, particularly in war-torn north.<\/p>\n

However, a large number of voters in the region came out early in the morning to exercise their franchise.<\/p>\n

The voter turnout this time was high and it is expected to equal or even surpass the 2010 election\u2019s 74.49 per cent.<\/p>\n

With the contest appearing close, the minorities\u2019 votes are likely to be decisive. <\/p>\n

Reports from the East, which has a large Muslim population, indicate that over 70 per cent polling was registered. Nearly 65 per cent voters in the Tamil-majority north seem to have voted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn its last two terms, the Rajapaksa government did not address our concerns convincingly,\u201d said K. Rajachandran, leader of fishermen\u2019s cooperative in Jaffna. <\/p>\n

\u201cI felt strongly that we need a change. I am sure that\u2019s how most people here feel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Special security arrangements are being made in Colombo for Friday when poll results will be out, police spokesperson Ajith Rohana said.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:The Hindu<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Meera Srinivasan Sri Lanka witnessed a largely peaceful presidential election on Thursday. There were a few sporadic explosions in the island\u2019s north, but no injury or damage was reported. The voter turnout \u2014 yet to be officially declared \u2014 could possibly equal or even surpass the 2010 election\u2019s 74.49 per cent. Sri Lanka follows …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Minority Community Votes May Hold the Key to Victory as Tightly Contested Presidential Poll Ends in Sri Lanka’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36997"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36997"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36998,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36997\/revisions\/36998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}