(16 Nov 2019) Sri Lankan presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa cast his vote on Saturday in elections following weeks of campaigning that largely focused on national security and religious extremism.
Amid a huge crush of journalists, Rajapaksa said he was "confident" of victory.
"The people of Sri Lanka will get a better future under me, under my presidency," he told reporters outside the polling station.
Rajapaksa, a retired lieutenant colonel and former powerful defense official who played a major role in defeating the Tamil rebels under his brother, ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa, is widely seen as the front-runner.
But he faces an increasingly strong challenge from the ruling party's Housing Minister ,Sajith Premadasa
Many among Sri Lanka’s majority ethnic Sinhalese Buddhists look up to Rajapaksa as a strong leader in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bomb attacks that killed 269 people.
This is in spite of allegations that he condoned human rights violations during the country's long civil war.
He is accused of controlling death squads that abducted, tortured and killed critical journalists and activists.
Gotabaya is also accused of ordering the deaths of scores of rebels and civilians who surrendered to the military in the final days of the civil war in 2009.
He denies the allegations.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
