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    ISAS Insights

    Detailed perspectives on developments in South Asia​​

    274 : Sri Lanka’s Transformational Election

    S D Muni, Professor Emeritus at the Jawaharlal Nehru University and Distinguished Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses in New Delhi (India)

    13 January 2015

    Maithripala Sirisena's unexpected victory against his former boss and the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka's presidential election held on 8 January 2015 signifies a major political transformation in the country. The margin of victory, at 3.7 percentage points (51.3% votes for Sirisena against 47.6% for Rajapaksa) may not be considered huge, but it was comfortable and decisive.