Rajapaksa ahead in Sri Lanka vote

Early results in Sri Lanka's presidential elections have indicated a substantial lead for Mahinda Rajapaksa, the incumbent, over chief rival Sarath Fonseka.

Election officials said on Wednesday that Rajapaksa had 723,362 votes so far and Fonseka had 460,725.

The counting continues amid growing tensions as troops have surrounded the Cinnamon Lakeside hotel in Colombo where Fonseka is staying, since early on Wednesday.

Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna, reporting from the capital, said the intense cordon of military personnel was, according to the presidential office, for Fonseka's protection.

The opposition candidate has admitted he was not registered as a voter and the presidential office said that revelation could create security issues, our correspondent said.

Fonseka told the Reuters news agency by phone that "these people have surrounded the hotel with military and threatened my security people".

"They had a plan to surround us and take us into custody and I don't know if this is that phase of that particular operation."

The former army chief, in the final days of the campaign, said the government had plans to either steal the vote or arrest him should he win.

The government dismissed the allegation, saying Rajapaksa would win the race cleanly and had no need to cheat.

A senior military source and a senior presidential aide told Reuters that Fonseka had been put under watch to ensure he did not attempt to organise a coup with his own loyalists in the army he commanded just eight months ago.

"The government doesn't want him to take the first step towards a coup," the military officer said on condition of anonymity.

The general fell under suspicion of plotting a coup immediately after the war, which analysts say led Rajapaksa to promote him to a job with no control over troops.

Fonseka said the sidelining and accusations prompted him to retire from the military and enter the presidential race.

© Al Jazeera