DATE=12/22/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=SRI LANKA VOTE RESULT (L)
NUMBER=2-257386
BYLINE=JIM TEEPLE
DATELINE=COLOMBO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga
has won reelection to a second term. Election
officials say the president won more than 51 percent
of the vote to her closest opponent's 43 percent.
Independent local election observers say there were
widespread irregularities in the election, which came
just three days after an assassination attempt on
Chandrika Kumaratunga. V-O-A's Jim Teeple has the
latest news from Colombo.
Text: There were 13 candidates in the race but the
main contest was between Chandrika Kumaratunga of the
People's Alliance and Ranil Wickremesinghe the
candidate of the United National Party.
Chandrika Kumaratunga took an early lead in the count
and never gave it up, winning large blocks of votes in
Sinhalese-dominated areas of southern and central Sri
Lanka. Analysts say Ranil Wickremesinghe was never
able to capitalize on discontent with Chandrike
Kumaratunga in Tamil areas of the country in the north
and east.
The vote took place just three days after two bomb
blasts which killed more than 35 people. The attacks
were carried out by suicide bombers. Police say they
are the work of Tamil Tiger rebels who seek to carve a
separate state out of Sri Lanka's Tamil-dominated
north and east.
Just one week ago polls showed a tight race with the
outcome too close to call. Rohan Edrisinha -- a law
professor at the University of Colombo -- says
Chandrika Kumaratunga received some sympathy votes as
a result the assassination attempt. He also says she
also benefited from a weak performance in the final
days of the campaign by Ranil Wickremesinghe of the U-
N-P.
// EDRISINHA ACTUALITY //
I think that what happened was that the U-N-P
candidate got a bit careless in the last week. He was
not so good at some of the talk shows and public
meetings that were held in the last week. I think
the assassination attempt also certainly worked in her
favor, because I think a lot of the uncommitted vote
went to her as a result of the sympathy factor.
// END ACTUALITY //
An independent Sri Lankan election monitoring group
says there were widespread irregularities and violence
at about one-third of polling stations on election
day. At least five people died in fighting between
rival political parties but fears the election would
be disrupted by attacks from Tamil separatists never
materialized.
Tens of thousands of police and army troops provided
security at nearly ten thousand polling stations.
Election officials say about 75 percent of Sri Lanka's
11 million eligible voters went to the polls on
Tuesday -- the largest turnout yet in Sri Lanka's four
presidential elections. (Signed)
neb/jlt/WD
22-Dec-1999 06:05 AM EDT (22-Dec-1999 1105 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
