01/26/2010
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Los Angeles Times
Incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa expected an easy reelection, especially after the country's 20-year civil war ended on his watch. But former army commander Sarath Fonseka is mounting a tough challenge.
01/26/2010
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New York Times
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — As voters streamed to the polls on Tuesday in Sri Lanka’s first election since the defeat of the Tamil Tiger insurgency, the Tamil vote emerged as the bloc that could decide the winner.
01/25/2010
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Associated Press
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- When Sri Lanka's president decided two months ago to call this week's snap presidential poll, his re-election appeared assured - until his former army chief joined the race.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa's popularity within the country's Sinhalese majority was sky-high in November after government troops crushed the Tamil Tigers' decades-long insurgency, setting the stage for Tuesday's first peacetime election in decades.
However, former army chief Sarath Fonseka, who led the government troops to victory, also is considered a hero among the Sinhalese and his decision later that month to contest the election turned it into a bitter race.
There have been no reliable polls, but the campaign is believed to be close. In an ironic twist, the votes of the Tamil minority - those who suffered most from the government offensive against the rebels - may help decide who will lead this embattled island nation as it tries to rebuild after decades of conflict.
01/24/2010
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Wall Street Journal
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka—This country's presidential vote Tuesday pits two chief architects of the country's defeat last year of Tamil separatists, underscoring the political divide that remains after 26 years of ethnic strife.