Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa refuted allegations of a coup on election night, dismissing such claims as ‘nonsense’ and as ‘a joke.’

Speaking to Al Jazeera on his first TV interview after the defeat at the January 8 Presidential Election, Rajapaksa asked one can launch a conspiracy in one hour, or two hours, to cling on to power.

He added that he had already decided that he will give it up if he lost the election.

When asked about the allegations of his beginning to behave like a dictator and was turning a blind eye to corruption, Rajapaksa claimed that such allegations were a result of a deliberate ‘well-managed’ campaign against him.

Rajapaksa refused to comment on if he will contest the next election as Prime Ministerial candidate but added that ‘if I contest, I know that I am going to win.’