Sri Lanka's former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa's United People's Freedom Alliance has managed to achieve a narrow lead in early election results on Tuesday, winning 21 out of the 225 seats in the parliament. His closest rival, current Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's United National Party, trails very close, winning 20 seats so far, according to ABC News.
Rajapaksa has served as Sri Lanka's leader for nine years, until his defeat at the previous presidential elections in January at the hands of Maithripala Sirisena, a fellow UPFA member. Since his defeat, the former president has attempted to get back into the country's top political echelons, eyeing the position of prime minister in the current election, as covered in this HNGN article.
However, current president Sirisena has stated that he will not grant the position of prime minister to Rajapaksa, even if the former president manages to gain the majority vote. The possibility of Rajapaksa winning the majority vote, and Sirisena refusing to appoint him PM, may cause a wave of political unrest in the island nation.
With the election underway, and with the advent of the current president's refusal, Rajapaksa has conceded defeat on Monday.
"My dream of becoming prime minister has faded away. I am conceding. We have lost a good fight," he said in an interview with Agence France-Presse news agency, according to The Guardian.
In a later interview, however, he stated that he is simply unlikely to be the country's next prime minister - a statement that might mean he is not fully conceding as of yet.
Sri Lanka employs a mixed electoral structure that utilizes multiple-member districts using proportional representation. A "list" system, which gives political parties a certain number of parliamentary seats based on election results, is also in place.
With 225 members, any party or coalition must win at least 113 seats to form a government.
