Nov 18 (TW) The Sri Lanka Democracy Forum (SLDF) condemns the election violence, intimidation and the consequent disenfranchisement of Tamil citizens by the LTTE in the North and East. The elections in the North and East were held in a climate of fear as the LTTE, through its front organizations, called for a boycott of the elections. more..

Nov 18 (ANN) It is a matter for happiness that yesterday's (Nov 17) election was peaceful overall despite a few incidents reported from some areas. There was brisk polling in the southern parts of the country while a very low voter turnout was reported from the clustered polling stations. more..

Nov 18 (LM) The LTTE, who opposed Ranil due to granting Muslim rights and autonomy prevented voters from casting their votes to opposition leader Ranil Wickramasighe leading to the victory of pro Sinhalese extremist supported Mahinda Wicramasighe. more..

Nov 18 (PIS) Polling in the north of the country registered record lows, as fears of an impending LTTE boycott of the poll became a reality and armed forces personnel and election monitors said civilians eager to come out to vote were prevented from doing so at Tiger checkpoints in the north and east by noon yesterday. more..

Nov 18 (SAMN) Tsunami survivors -- in this wave-battered southern town, where voters' lists separated the dead from the living with a simple “DS” (Dead-Tsunami) -- turned out in force today to elect a new Sri Lankan President. “The lists were prepared in April, before anyone had a full idea of who had been killed in the tsunami,” more..

Nov 18 (SAMN) Articulating a "Vision for South Asia" President Chandrika Kumaratunga said that the benefits of SAARC economic integration will be so compelling and tangible that the specter of inter-state or intra-state conflict will recede into obscurity. more..

Nov 18 (SAMN) At a symposium organised by Matara Trade and Commerce Union and held at Solis Hotel, Matara District Secretary Gamini Jayasekera addressing the gathering said that Sri Lankan products are well received in the World Market and could compete successfully with the rest of the world. more..

Nov 18 (SLE) The JHU parliamentarian Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thero calling on the Asgiriya prelate Wednesday (16) afternoon said that he would keep off politics after the Presidential Election. Ven. Dhammaloka called on the Most Venerable Udugama Sri Buddharakkitha Mahanayake Thero at his vihare on the eve of the presidential election late last afternoon. more..

Nov 18 (SLE) Thousands of eligible voters in the Colombo Central had to turn back without voting as their names were not included in the registers at the polling booths. Earlier many voters did not receive their polling cards. However, they were told that would be eligible to vote on providing proof of identity. more..

Nov 18 (CPA) CMEV has received an initial set of 122 reports of incidents of election violence today, polling day 17th November 2005. The bulk of the major incidents including murder and causing grievous hurt were recorded in the North and East. The general environment and context that prevailed in these areas was one of intimidation, tension and violence. more..

Nov 18 (CPA) The CMEV, having fielded teams of mobile election monitors as well as monitors in many of the polling stations throughout the north and east on election day November 17 2005 strongly feels that the environment that prevailed during the election campaign and on Election Day in the north and east were not conducive to the conduct of a free and fair election. more..

Nov 18 (DN) Senior Advisor to President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Senior Director General in the President's Office, Mano Tittawella will resign from his post from November 30. Tittawella, who is also the Chairman/CEO of the Strategic Enterprise Management Agency and more..

Nov 18 (BBC) The victory of Mahinda Rajapakse in Sri Lanka's presidential election is being seen as a vote in favour of a hardline approach towards resolving the country's long-running ethnic conflict. For many it signals a key moment in the country's history, more..

Nov 18 (PTI) Movie star-turned Premier and now Sri Lanka's victorious Presidential candidate, Mahinda Rajapakse has always advocated stronger ties with India and sought a bigger role for New Delhi in the island nation's stalled peace process. more..

Nov 18 (BBC) Tamil Tiger rebels have warned the winner of Sri Lanka's presidential election, Mahinda Rajapakse, of the dangers of any move to break the country's three-year-old ceasefire. "If they try to use military means to occupy our land or wage a conflict it will have negative implications for the other side," more..

Nov 18 (AP) Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, the winner of Sri Lanka's tightly contested presidential election, said Friday that he wants to hold face-to-face talks with the leader of the secretive Tamil Tiger rebels to end more than two decades of civil war. more..

Nov 18 (AFX) The opposition UNP demanded fresh voting in the island's north where Tamil Tiger rebels reportedly enforced a mass boycott of the presidential election. The UNP, whose candidate lost narrowly to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, said it wants a re-poll in Tamil-dominated Jaffna where the voter turnout was less than 0.01 pct. more..

Nov 18 (Reuters) Mahinda Rajapakse staked his bid for the Sri Lankan presidency on pacts with hardline Marxists and Sinhalese nationalists opposed to the island's Tamil Tigers. On Friday the prime minister's gamble paid off. more..

Nov 18 (LBO) Stocks crashed nearly seven percent at Friday's close as socialist President-elect Mahinda Rajapakse narrowly beat a market-friendly favourite, brokers said. The benchmark All Share Price index plunged 174 points to 2,325, after jumping a record high of five percent on Wednesday. more..

Nov 18 (LBO) Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake made a humble plea or in his words 'a final request' from the new President on Friday, asking to let him retire in peace at least now. Dissanayake, 64 and after six heart attacks, served four more years at his post since his retirement was due. more..

Nov 18 (LBO) UPFA officials say the current cabinet of ministers will be sworn in as is, as there will be no immediate change to the government decision making body. The constitution allows for a reconstitution of the cabinet and requires the decision making body to be sworn in under a new president. more..

Nov 18 (BBC) The victor in Sri Lanka's presidential elections, Mahinda Rajapakse, is a Buddhist lawyer who is described on his website as "a rebel with a cause". The cause with which he has been associated longest is that of the Sinhala community of southern Sri Lanka, into which he was born 60 years ago. more..

Nov 18 (AT) Mahinda Rajapakse, “the new President elect” – it was officially announced Dayananda Disanayake, Election Commissioner, on Friday at 1:30 p.m Sri Lanka time, at the Election Department, located in Rajagiriya. According to the official figures released, out of a total of 13, 327,160 eligible voters, 9,826,908 voters had cast their votes. more..

Nov 18 (AFP) Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse officially won Sri Lanka's tightly-fought battle for the presidency in a victory which analysts said dimmed the island's peace hopes. Rajapakse, a socialist who celebrates his 60th birthday Friday, received 4.88 million votes, more..

Nov 18 (SLBC) The UNP says they respect the decision of the people made in the presidential election. According to General Secretary of the UNP Tissa Attanayake, Prime minister Mahinda Rajapakse is now entrusted with the grave responsibility of implementing what he had promised in the Mahinda Chinthana. more..

Nov 18 (SLBC) Over 30,000 local and international observers were present for the presidential election. International election observers from the European Union the Commonwealth and many Asian countries were deployed islandwide including in the north and east. more..

Nov 18 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's hawkish prime minister, Mahinda Rajapakse, won the island's presidency on Friday after a Tamil Tiger boycott torpedoed his main rival, and vowed to forge an "honourable peace" with the rebels. more..

Nov 18 (UNI) Leader of the main opposition, United National Party's Ranil Wickremesinghe, who lost the presidential election to the Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse with a slim margin, warned today that the country's future is "worrisome" with the people giving a polarized mandate. more..

Nov 18 (AP) Sri Lanka's president-elect has decided not to appoint Anura Bandaranaike, the country's tourism minister and brother of the outgoing president, to replace him as the new prime minister, a spokesman for the newly elected president said Friday. more..

Nov 18 (HT) The result of the election should make both Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe reassess their projects. The narrow margin of the projected victory should make Rajapaksa wonder if he was right in projecting himself so blatantly as a leader of the majority Sinhala Buddhist community and neglecting the minorities. more..

Nov 18 (HT) Since Rajapaksa is a Left of Centre politician, and is aligned with the radical Marxist JVP and the ultra nationalist JHU, the economic management of Sri Lanka would take a left turn. And there will be great resistance to pleas for reform. more..

Nov 18 (HT) The Tamils feel that since their boycott had been a critical factor in the election, both the mainstream Sinhala parties would have to take their demands seriously and not harp only on Sinhala-Buddhist majoritarian interests. more..

Nov 18 (HT) The fact that many Tamils in the Eastern districts voted despite the ban imposed by the LTTE and the violence unleashed by it, shows that the people of the East have a mind of their own and cannot be cowed down completely. The LTTE may be forced to take note of this and accommodate their aspirations. more..

Nov 18 (HT) Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa could not have asked for a better birthday present. As he turned 60 on Friday, he was declared elected as Sri Lanka's Fifth President. Candidate of the ruling SLFP, Rajapaksa got 50.29 per cent of the 9,717,039 votes cast, as against his nearest rival, Ranil Wickremesinghe of the UNP, who secured 48.43 per cent. more..

Nov 18 (LBO) The defeated UNP camp says its is seeking legal advise on taking the elections chief to courts for turning down their call for a re-poll in the North. UNP officials in their first address after loosing Thursday’s presidential poll said that voters in LTTE controlled north were obstructed from exercising their franchise. more..

Nov 18 (IANS) A deeply divided Sri Lanka has chosen a known Sinhalese hardliner as its new president - but by the narrowest margin in the country's history. This itself is the first clear pointer that Mahinda Rajapakse, the current prime minister, will urgently need to shed some of his ethno-religious rhetoric and moderate himself if he wants lasting peace in his country. more..

Nov 18 (Reuters) A Norwegian peace envoy expressed fears of widening violence in Sri Lanka after hawkish Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse won the island's presidency on Friday. "The situation is now very difficult," Development Minister Erik Solheim, who has led stalled Norwegian efforts to aid peace talks more..

Nov 19 (CCF) In many ways the children had the most to lose when the waves came crashing through their homes and schools. Now, many months after the waves struck, they require further assistance to prevent terrible problems associated with displacement — disease, hunger, malnutrition and exploitation — in the aftermath of such a disaster. more..

Nov 19 (JS) The Sri Lankan port of Colombo has become the fortieth port to operate under the Container Security Initiative (CSI), an anti-terrorist initiative which targets and pre-screens maritime cargo containers destined for the US. more..

Nov 19 (AFP) Sri Lanka's Tiger rebels deliberately ditched the man who signed a truce with them and cleared the way for his hawkish rival to win the presidency in a calculated move that has dashed peace hopes, analysts said Friday. more..

Nov 19 (BBC) Probably the main challenge now for the new president elect Mahinda Rajapakse would be to bring harmony within his coalition. The coalition was put together just before the election campaign. more..

Nov 19 (BBC) DM Jayaratne, Minister of Post and Telecommunications, has claimed that he is the most suitable candidate to be the next prime minister. As the most senior Senior Vice President of SLFP, he said, many friends and supporters are urging him to claim the post to be vacant on Saturday when PM Mahinda Rajapkse takes oaths as Sri Lanka’s fifth president. more..

Nov 19 (AT) Former United States president Bill Clinton in his current capacity as the United Nations Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka on November 29 and Indonesia’s Aseh Province the following day to assess the status of the recovery of both these worst devastated nations due to last December tsunami. more..

Nov 19 (AT) A former Peace Envoy and the present Norwegian Minister of International Development Erik Solheim, while warmly congratulating Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse on his election as President in a statement released through the Norway Embassy, has also said "There may be a danger that Sri Lanka can slide further into uncontrolled violence in considerable parts of the country,” more..

Nov 19 (AT) The woman who was abducted and raped, while waiting to board her flight at the Katunayake International Airport, to take up job as a housemaid, that created sensation as a rare breach of security, has now returned home without even working for a week. more..

Nov 19 (wsws) A key factor in the presidential election has been the JVP, which has used the campaign to further integrate itself into the official political establishment. The reliance of the Sri Lankan ruling elite on this unstable Sinhala chauvinist and populist formation is a clear sign of the deep impasse that bourgeois politics has reached. more..

Nov 19 (wsws) Growing political tensions surrounded yesterday’s presidential election. It is expected that the results will be announced today. Whichever candidate of the two main capitalist parties—Mahinda Rajapakse of the SLFP and Ranil Wickremesinghe of the UNP—wins the ballot, the stage is set for a deepening political crisis and major class battles. more..

Nov 19 (Hindu) Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse received his best birthday gift as he turned 60 on Friday when he was declared elected as the Executive President. For one who was not widely seen as in the race for the post two years ago, Mr. Rajapakse's ascent was meteoric achieved in just over a year. more..

Nov 19 (AT) Colonel Karuna in an exclusive interview with Asian Tribune, said that Tamil National Force, TamilEela Makal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) and the Tamils are ready to work with the President elect Mahinda Rajapakse to search for an acceptable solution along with other like - minded Tamil groups and Tamil leaders. more..

Nov 19 (AT) European Union has said that the travel ban imposed on the LTTE would not be lifted. This assurance was given to a delegation of Tamil democrats when it met the European Union officials at the EU headquarters in Brussels on Monday 14th November. more..