Thursday, February 04, 2010

Sri Lankan opposition hits the streets to protest presidential election results



Thousands of opposition supporters have hit the streets of the capital, in protest over last week's presidential election results, which they claim were rigged.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa secured a landslide victory, defeating his former army chief Sarath Fonseka in the Jan. 26 poll, according to official results.


The opposition said the vote was rigged, has rejected the results and said it will challenge them in courts.

The Wednesday gathering is unprecedented in this island nation, where election results are usually accepted without street protests.

The country's election chief Dayananda Dissanayake said he stands by the election results he announced last week, but said there were irregularities in the campaign period.

© Today

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