COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa took a strong lead over retired Gen. Sarath Fonseka in Tuesday's presidential election in Sri Lanka, early results showed.
Results posted on Colombo Page's Web site showed Rajapaksa with 409,149 votes to 251,808 for Fonseka. About 14 million of Sri Lanka's population of 21 million were eligible to vote.
The race was expected to be keenly contested as both Rajapaksa and Fonseka are credited by the majority Sinhalese with leading the military victory in May that ended the 26-year-old civil war of the Tamil Tiger rebels for a separate homeland for the Tamil-speaking minority. About 70,000 people died in the years-long civil war.
The Sinhalese vote was expected to largely split between the two candidates with the minority Tamil vote possibly deciding the outcome. The Tamils account for about 12 percent to 13 percent of the population.
Amid tight security, Rajapaksa called for peaceful elections, the government Web site reported.
There were reports of explosions and mortar fire hours before voting began in the northern province of Jaffna, once the stronghold of the Tiger rebels, CNN reported. While the reasons were not clear, the U.S. network noted such incidents are not new in the region where people have lived under military control for years.
In a surprise development, Fonseka received the backing of Chandrika Kumaratunga, a former Sri Lankan president from Rajapaksa's party. Fonseka, who quit his top military post after falling out with the Rajapaksa government in the post-war period, had largely campaigned against government corruption and nepotism.
Rajapaksa vowed to protect democracy and said he would remain committed to eliminating corruption.
There are about 20 others candidates in the election. Full election results are expected Wednesday.
