Sri Lanka’s ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) party swept up the votes to win majority seats in the Western and Southern Provincial elections held yesterday.
In what, the President’s son and UPFA parliamentarian, Namal Rajapaksa, described as a ‘profound’ victory, the ruling UPFA party gained majority rule over both provincial councils.
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| Rajapaksa rallies at a Buddhist function days before the elections. Photo:Mahinda Rajapaksa Facebook page |
Notably the ruling UPFA silenced doubters of their support in the Colombo division of the Western Province by securing over 443,083 votes whilst the opposition UNP party received 285,538 votes.
See provincial results below.
| Southern Provincial Council | Votes |
| United People's Freedom Alliance | 699408 |
| United National Party | 310431 |
| Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna | 109032 |
| Democratic Party | 75532 |
| Western Provincial Council | |
| United People's Freedom Alliance | 1363675 |
| United National Party | 679682 |
| Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna | 203767 |
| Democratic Party | 156208 |
The ruling party election rallies, in the run up to the vote, heavily featured defiant statements against the discussion of Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Rajapaksa: unconcerned about Geneva, people will win (27 March 2014)
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