By Angella Semu
Out of 35 candidates who contested on the position of president, former defense secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been elected as the new president of Sri Lanka.
According to the chairman of Sri Lanka’s Election Commission, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has won with about 52.2% of the total votes seconded by his main rival Sajith Premadasa who has secured 41.99% of the votes.
This is Sri Lanka’s first election since the deadly terror attacks in April.
The elections took place today following Easter bombings which claimed the lives of 290 people and injured hundreds others and led to the removal of the outgoing President, Maithripala Sirisena.
His term was nipped in the bud when people sensed lack of security in the country as a result of the fracas and his failed attempt to remove Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe from office.
Gotabaya served as defense minister under his elder brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa and oversaw the war in the country during which the rebellious group, Tamil Tigers was defeated in an operation that ended the civil war in the country.
Gotabaya elder brother, Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, currently leads the opposition in Parliament and is expected to compete for the post of Prime Minister in parliamentary elections which will be in 2020.
