Sri Lanka president wins re-election

January 27, 2010 (AFP) - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse won a bruising re-election battle on Wednesday, but the result was rejected by his opponent who spent the day holed up in a hotel surrounded by troops.







The election commissioner said Rajapakse had secured 57.

9 percent of the popular vote in Tuesday's presidential poll -- the first since a victory over separatist Tamil rebels last May ended a decades-long civil war.

"This is a victory for the people," Rajapakse said.

"I thank those who voted for me and those who did not. I will work for all of them."

His main challenger, former army chief Sarath Fonseka, received 40.1 percent of the vote, but he vowed to challenge the result in court.

buy lipitor online buy lipitor online no prescription

In a day of high drama that followed a bitter and vitriolic contest between the former allies, Fonseka was surrounded by heavily armed soldiers in a luxury hotel in central Colombo where he checked in on Tuesday night.

The 59-year-old claimed he was unable to leave because he would be arrested or assassinated, but he slipped out unimpeded late Wednesday, heading for a safe house in the Sri Lankan capital.

"The victory has been taken away from us by election-rigging and the violation of electoral law