2015 Sri Lankan presidential election

2015 Sri Lankan presidential election
← 2010 8 January 2015 (2015-01-08) 2019 →
Turnout81.52% (Increase7.02pp)
 
Nominee Maithripala Sirisena Mahinda Rajapaksa
Party NDF SLFP
Alliance — UPFA
Popular vote 6,217,162 5,768,090
Percentage 51.28% 47.58%
Results by polling division
President before election

Mahinda Rajapaksa
SLFP

Elected President

Maithripala Sirisena
NDF

The 2015 Sri Lankan presidential election was the 7th presidential election, held on 8 January 2015. This election was held two years ahead of schedule.[1][2] Incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa was the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance's candidate, seeking a third term in office.[3][4] The United National Party-led opposition coalition chose to field Maithripala Sirisena, former Minister of Health in Rajapaksa's government and general secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party – the main constituent party of the UPFA – as its common candidate.[5][6]

Sirisena was declared the winner, receiving 51.28% of all votes cast compared to Rajapaksa's 47.58%.[7][8] The result was generally seen as a major upset;[9][10][11] when Rajapaksa called the election in November 2014 he had looked certain to win.[12][13][14] On 11 January 2015, the new government announced a special investigation into allegations of an attempted coup by Rajapaksa.[15]

  1. ^ "Presidential poll Jan. 8; Nominations on Dec. 8". Daily Mirror. 21 November 2014.
  2. ^ "South Asia Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa facing electoral rebellion". Deutsche Welle. 21 November 2014.
  3. ^ "Sri Lanka calls early presidential elections". BBC News. 20 October 2014.
  4. ^ "Sri Lanka president calls early election". Al Jazeera. 20 November 2014.
  5. ^ "Sri Lanka election: Health chief to challenge Rajapaksa". BBC News. 21 November 2014.
  6. ^ "Sri Lankan minister quits, to challenge Rajapaksa for presidency". Reuters. 21 November 2014.
  7. ^ Ben, Doherty; Munk, David (9 January 2015). "Sri Lanka election: president Mahinda Rajapaksa concedes defeat — live". The Guardian.
  8. ^ Sundarji, Padma Rao; Jacob, Jayanth Jacob (9 January 2015). "Mighty Rajapaksa stunned, Sirisena is new Lanka Prez". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015.
  9. ^ "Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa suffers shock election defeat". BBC News. 9 January 2015.
  10. ^ Koutsoukis, Jason (10 January 2015). "Sri Lanka election: shock result as president Mahinda Rajapaksa is tossed out". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  11. ^ Pasricha, Anjana (9 January 2015). "Sri Lanka Swears In New President". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  12. ^ Hume, Tim; Athas, Iqbal (9 January 2015). "Sri Lanka's Mahinda Rajapaksa concedes defeat in presidential elections". CNN.
  13. ^ Kumar, Nikhil (9 January 2015). "Sri Lanka Looks to Chart a New Course After Ousting Mahinda Rajapaksa". Time.
  14. ^ "Sri Lanka election winner Sirisena pledges to reform the state". The Japan Times. 9 January 2015.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference DW110115 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).