Next Indian Elections

(28 Jan 2010) SHOTLIST
1. Various of morning traffic
2. Mid of two army soldiers
3. Close up of soldier''s gun
4. SOUNDBITE (Sinhala) R.M Nimal Ratnayake, Graduate:
"He ended terrorism and established peace. Now we can walk freely in these places.''''
5. Various of political posters on wall reading: (English) "Sorry Fonseka''''
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Plitha, Private sector manager:
"He got the maturity, he got the knowledge, what I think - he''s got everything. So what I expect him to take our country forward."
7. Wide of a man sitting on a bike reading a newspaper
8. Close up of a man reading a newspaper
9. Various of people reading newspapers and headlines
STORYLINE:
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa swept to a second term in office, but his chief rival vowed to challenge the results and for hours insisted he was being held a virtual prisoner in a hotel surrounded by hundreds of soldiers.
Rajapaksa tried to brush off the election dispute on Wednesday, calling on Sri Lankans to unite for the tough task of rebuilding a nation shattered by a generation of ethnic warfare.
Rajapaksa will now have to face Sri Lankans'' growing anxiety over the country''s economic stagnation, and he will be expected to tackle the tensions
between his Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority that fuelled the nation''s 25-year civil war.
One private sector manager said on Thursday he hoped the new president would "take our country forward."
What had been expected to be a tight election between two architects of the government''s victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels last year turned into a
rout.
Rajapaksa captured 57 percent of the vote in Tuesday''s polling, while Sarath Fonseka won 40 percent, according to the election commission.
Rajapaksa''s supporters hit the streets in celebration, setting off fireworks, waving Sri Lankan flags and holding up posters of the president.
Fonseka, however, rejected the results and vowed to challenge them in court.
For much of Wednesday, Sri Lanka''s capital was tense as hundreds of soldiers and policemen ringed the upscale Cinnamon Lakeside hotel in central Colombo for hours, controlling access, and turning the former general - who had led some of these same troops in battle only eight months before - into a virtual prisoner.
The military presence appeared designed to prevent Fonseka from stirring up opposition protests to the vote, though there was no indication he had the ability or support to overthrow the government by force.
After night fell, Fonseka left the hotel and went to his private residence, said Tissa Attanayake, the general secretary of the main opposition party.
Soon after, the soldiers also withdrew.
The race between the two men had elements of a classic drama from the start. Both are considered war heroes by the Sinhalese for their role in
crushing the rebel''s armed struggle for an independent state in the north.
They both also stand accused by human rights groups of possible war crimes committed during that fight.
Fonseka was considered the only chance the opposition had of defeating Rajapaksa, but the president''s powerful political machine - and his alleged use of state resources, especially state media in his campaign - overwhelmed Fonseka''s bid.
And the president remains deeply popular with many Sri Lankans.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/

You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/cc6132d1291a716322618a92d8c94277