Mahinda Rajapaksa created confusion on Tuesday morning as he first conceded the election and later backtracked on his decision.
“My dream of becoming prime minister has faded away,” Rajapaksa told AFP early Tuesday. “I am conceding. We have lost a good fight.”
But in an interview with Reuters later in the day, Mr. Rajapaksa stopped short of conceding, saying only that he was unlikely to lead Sri Lanka’s next government. “I will support good policies and oppose bad things" he said.
Meanwhile his Twitter Handle said that Rajapaksa hasn’t yet received official final results of the election to accept victory or concede defeat.