Rajapaksa takes early lead in Sri Lankan presidential poll

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa took an initial lead early Wednesday over his main rival former army commander General Sarath Fonseka in the counting of the votes for the presidential election.

With over 1 million votes counted by 6 a.m, Rajapaksa recorded 689,261 votes against Fonseka's 442,292 votes, Xinhua reported.

The island's sixth presidential election was held largely free of violence Tuesday with a turnout estimated to be over 70 percent.

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