Former MP from Ratnapura District, Ranjith de Zoysa, said that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa cannot refuse to be the opposition leader of the new parliament.

Speaking to Asian Mirror a short while ago, Zoysa said that Rajapaksa's supporters will make him change his mind, even if he refuses to be opposition leader.

Rajapaksa told media recently that he will be a backbencher in the new parliament.

Furthermore, Zoysa said that a minority of the SLFP Central Committee was opposed to the idea of a national government. However, the majority of the CC is now composed of loyalists of President Maithripala Sirisena, he pointed out.

Regardless of the SLFP CC decision, he will oppose a national government and will sit in opposition, Ziysa said.

The newly elected UPFA parliamentarians supporting former President Mahinda Rajapaksa met today at the residence of Western Province Chief Minister Prasanna Ranatunga.

Leader of the Left Democratic Front Vasudeva Nanayakkara told media that Rajapaksa took part in the meeting.

The Rajapaksa supporters are against the national government, Nanayakkara confirmed to media.

Reports said that around 60 newly elected members took part in the meeting.

Although Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe received more than 500,000 preference votes from Colombo, he failed to surpass the preferential vote percentage of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the 2015 General Election.

Wickremesinghe received 500,566 preferences while the UNP polled 640,743 votes. Thereby, 78 percent of UNP voters gave one preference to Wickremesinghe. Meanwhile, Rajapaksa received 423,529 preferences while the UPFA polled 474,124 votes. The percentage of UPFA voters who gave a preference vote to Rajapaksa was 89 percent.

UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa managed to obtain the preference of 84 percent of UNP voters in Hambantota. Premadasa gained 112,645 preferences while the UNP polled 134,433 votes.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa received 423,529 pereferences, easily leading the race in the district. UNP team leader Akila Viraj Kariyawasam received 286,165 preferences.

The UPFA won eight seats while the UNP won seven seats in Kurunegala District.

UPFA List

Lee Rhiannon, a New South Wales Senator in Australia stated that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's election defeat was a step closer to having him and his brothers tried in The Hague for war crimes.

She made this controversial statement posting a statement on her Twitter page, as the election results were being released in Sri Lanka this morning.

It was reported early morning today that former President Rajapaksa had accepted defeat.

Rhiannon is a politician representing Australian Greens.

Kurunegala District postal votes were won by the UNP which polled 30,917 votes (47.70%) while the UPFA managed to poll only 28,634 postal votes.

The JVP was able to obtain 4,731 postal votes (7.30%)

This is a serious defeat for former President Mahinda Rajapaksa who led the UPFA team in Kurunegala.

Kurunegala was the district with the largest number of postal voters.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa accepted defeat at the 2015 General Election, AFP reported a short while ago.

“We have won eight districts and the UNP (ruling United National Party) has 11 (out of a total of 22),” Rajapaksa told AFP. “This means we have lost. It was a difficult fight.”

He added that he will work as an opposition Member of Parliament.

According to results already released, the UNP has shown a marked increase in its vote share in a number of districts. Meanwhile the ITAK won all seats in Jaffna District.

However, UPFA managed to win all seats in Rajapaksa's home district of Hambantota, albeit with a reduced majority.