Sri Lanka's former civil war-time defence chief Gotabaya Rajapaksa was declared the winner in the presidential election yesterday, becoming the latest nationalist leader to sweep to victory.
The controversial Mr Rajapaksa - brother of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa - won 52.25 per cent of the vote in last Saturday's (Nov 16) election, while his main rival, Housing Minister Sajith Premadasa, got 41.99 per cent.