Sri Lankan president re-elected

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa reportedly won the country’s presidential election on Wednesday as army troops surrounded the hotel where his main challenger is staying.

According to a report by Sri Lankan state TV, Rajapaksa has won more than half the votes although the final results have not yet been announced.

The news comes as about 100 armed troops have surrounded the Colombo hotel where the main opposition candidate, Gen Sarath Fonseka, is staying.

A military spokesman said their presence was a “protective measure”.

Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, the spokesman, said that some 400 people had gathered near the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel in the capital.

“We don’t know what is their motive and, as a protective measure, we have deployed troops around the hotel, and people who go in and come out are being checked,” he was quoted by Reuters as saying.

There are some 14 million registered voters in the country, and the overall turnout during Tuesday’s polling was more than 70 percent, according to officials.