Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Sri Lanka's former defence chief Gotabaya Rajapaksa on winning the 2019 Presidential elections
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (November 17) congratulated Sri Lanka's former defence chief Gotabaya Rajapaksa on his victory in the 2019 Presidential elections.
"Congratulations @GotabayaR on your victory in the Presidential elections. I look forward to working closely with you for deepening the close and fraternal ties between our two countries and citizens, and for peace, prosperity as well as security in our region," PM Modi tweeted.
The Prime Minister also congratulated the people of Sri Lanka on completing the elections successfully.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa has claimed victory in the Sri Lankan Presidential polls and his main opponent Sajith Premadasa of the ruling United National Party has conceded defeat, even as the official results are yet to be announced.
After local media reported that Rajapaksa won 53-54% of the votes, Premadasa issued a statement on Sunday, "At the conclusion of a hard-fought and spirited election campaign, it is my privilege to honour the decision of the people and congratulate Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa on his election as the seventh President of Sri Lanka."
Official results were due to be released by 4:00 pm local time (10:30 GMT) on Sunday, election commission officials told Al Jazeera.
Rajapaksa, who has been credited for having crushed the Tamil Tigers 10 years ago, focused his campaign on his credentials as the defence secretary that brought a close to the bloody 26-year civil war, while also calling for an overhaul of economic policies implemented by Premadasa's UNP during its five years in charge of parliament.
The former defence secretary and brother of two-time former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, based his campaign on providing strong leadership on national security issues, following coordinated bombings in April that killed at least 269 people.
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