{"id":66336,"date":"2019-11-16T20:47:50","date_gmt":"2019-11-17T01:47:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=66336"},"modified":"2019-11-16T20:47:50","modified_gmt":"2019-11-17T01:47:50","slug":"high-turn-out-of-voters-welcomed-by-camps-of-rival-presidential-candidates-gotabaya-rajapaksa-and-sajith-premadasa-with-both-camps-confident-of-victory-at-first-count-of-votes-tamils-in-north-east-vo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=66336","title":{"rendered":"High Turn out of Voters Welcomed by Camps of Rival Presidential Candidates Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Sajith Premadasa With Both Camps Confident of Victory at First Count of Votes; Tamils in North-East Vote in Large Numbers Rejecting Boycott Call"},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/p>\n

Meera Srinivasan<\/strong><\/p>\n

As voting ended on Saturday, the rival political camps of Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Sajith Premadasa in Sri Lanka\u2019s presidential election appeared confident that the high turnout would push their candidate past the required 50% mark.<\/p>\n

A second round of counting will be undertaken to tally preference votes if neither contestant secures over half the vote share.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing by the high turnout, it looks like there is a very strong anti-incumbency sentiment,\u201d said Namal Rajapaksa, legislator and nephew of Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa. \u201cThe fact that the whole country, including the north, has voted in large numbers shows that they all want to be part of this democratic process. It is a very healthy sign,\u201d he told The Hindu.<\/p>\n

Cabinet Minister Mano Ganesan said it was \u201cvery encouraging\u201d to see the large number of voters exercising their franchise.<\/p>\n

\u201cSajith Premadasa is quite popular in the south and he has proactively reached out to the minorities across the island in his campaign. We are quite hopeful that he will win,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr. Premadasa is banking heavily on the minority vote which is widely expected to go in his favour, since prominent Tamil (north-east and hill country) and Muslim parties have backed him this election. Moreover, many Tamils and Muslims are still fearful of Mr. Rajapaksa, who is accused of war crimes \u2014 he has denied them \u2014 and is linked to reactionary Sinhala Buddhist groups that have stoked anti-Muslim violence in the past.<\/p>\n

Boycott call rejected<\/strong><\/p>\n

The high Tamil turnout in the north and east is also seen as a rejection of repeated calls for a boycott from some political leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt [turnout] means that the Tamil voter is very pragmatic and knows what is really good for the Tamil people in the given context,\u201d said M.A. Sumanthiran, Jaffna district MP and spokesman of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). Post-war, engaging fully in the available democratic space is a \u201csine qua non\u201d, he said, if the Tamils are to make any progress in achieving their political aspirations. \u201cOur people understand this very well\u2026boycott was never on the cards,\u201d he told The Hindu.<\/p>\n

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

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

By Meera Srinivasan As voting ended on Saturday, the rival political camps of Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Sajith Premadasa in Sri Lanka\u2019s presidential election appeared confident that the high turnout would push their candidate past the required 50% mark. A second round of counting will be undertaken to tally preference votes if neither contestant secures over …<\/p>\n

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