Thanks for the pics. Knowing the cast involved we all knew the elections were going to be compelling drama. The only surprise was that the opposition (riding the clean image) chose to take the low road at the end, by doing their best to undermine the democratic system itself. One would think that Ranil, Mangala etc etc would know better. They all lose as much as MR. Same goes for the NGO crowd, but understandably they just want to strike while the iron is hot.

Apologize in advance, but I was quite amused by this article in Australian press. I thought it was relevant because it shows how this election will be interpreted by interested parties in the future.

Like Indi said in one of his posts, the meme that elections were rigged is established in some peoples mind. All that baseless FUD seems to have had its intended effect. And it is very obvious that Colombo NGOs, apart from the Eelam lobby, have had the biggest hand in this growing perception that MR’s win is tainted. Their main thrust is if this 17% margin result was manufactured by MR’s camp, then nothing else is going to be legitimate about Sri Lanka.

Take a read if you will.

Has Sri Lanka stumbled on path to democracy?
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/has-sri-lanka-stumbled-on-path-to-democracy-20100128-n1ro.html

The victory of Mahinda Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka’s presidential elections on Tuesday was to be expected, based on the wave of Sinhalese chauvinism that has swept the island state since the defeat of the Tamil Tigers in May last year. Also to be expected is the spate of issues that now face the country under his continued leadership. Once held up as one of the developing world’s most successful democracies, Sri Lanka is now on the verge of entering the ranks of the world’s pariah states.
…

(Writer Damien Kingsbury holds a personal chair in the school of international and political studies at Deakin University.)

Election is over. SF lost. MR won.

But the campaign goes on.

http://www.theage.com.au/world/fraud-allegations-taint-sri-lankan-election-20100129-n465.html

Exhibit 1.

Jehan Parera, executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, said these voting patterns revealed fundamental flaws in Sri Lankan democracy.

”The problem in our country is that majority rule also translated into ethnic majority rule,” he said. ”It is permanent majority rule that can also become a tyranny of the majority.”

Some analysts say Sri Lanka has been drifting towards a more authoritarian political model. The nature of Rajapaksa’s re-election has helped entrench this perception.

Exhibit 2.

The Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission also questioned the credibility of the election.

”Very clearly, the question as to whether Sri Lanka is any longer capable of conducting a free and fair election has been raised in this election,” the group said in a statement.

”It is not only the electoral process that is under challenge. The very process of receiving, preserving and counting the ballot at the commissioner’s office itself is an issue that has been prominently raised.”

Exhibit 3.

James McGrath, a senior Australian Liberal Party official who was working as a campaign adviser to the opposition, said Rajapaksa’s domination of election coverage on Government-owned media greatly benefited his re-election bid. Many rural Sri Lankans have few alternatives to state television.

”The coverage Rajapaksa got on state media just destroyed us,” he said.

SF’s office raided and workers+computers arrested. Are you there too ?

Aside from your views, I enjoyed your election coverage as they provided me with an alternate view of the event(s). I never believed in SF’s tactics or capabilities. He may have been a good soldier but he is no leader. But hey I did not even vote.
Thank you for introducing Amali Ramanayaka and Anupama Ganegoda, (I knew capabilities of Dinidu already) Very good photography.