Columbo, February 25: Sri Lanka’s ex-army chief who was detained on accusations of sedition after losing presidential elections is set to lead a new opposition coalition in an April parliamentary vote, a party official said Thursday.
Retired Gen. Sarath Fonseka has signed nomination papers to contest a seat in the capital Colombo, representing the Democratic National Alliance at the nationwide polls on April 8, party official Vijitha Herath said. His papers will be submitted Friday.
Fonseka contested the Jan. 26 presidential election with the backing of 14 opposition parties, but lost to the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The military arrested Fonseka nearly two weeks after his heavy election defeat, propelling this island nation into political turmoil as it emerges from a quarter-century of civil war, following the annihilation of the Tamil Tiger rebels last year.
Charges against him have not yet been specified, and without a conviction against him, he should be able to contest the vote. Government officials have alleged various offenses from plotting to overthrow the government while in military service to taking kickbacks on arms deals.
Fonseka signed his nomination papers at the naval camp in Colombo where he is held and sent the documents through his wife Anoma Fonseka who is allowed to visit him, Herath said.
Rajapaksa and Fonseka were formerly strong allies against the Tamil rebels, but after the war ended they fell out. Fonseka quit the army and ran for the presidency.
After the vote, Fonseka accused Rajapaksa of electoral fraud and petitioned the Supreme Court to void the January election.
Rajapaksa has faced international criticism for the arrest of Fonseka but the detention has been followed by a split in the opposition coalition. Its biggest partner, the United National Party, has decided to go it alone in the upcoming elections. Herath said Fonseka’s new alliance comprises six parties.
The split in the opposition boosts Rajapaksa’s hope of dominating the next parliament. His ruling coalition controlled 128 seats in the 225-member legislature before it was dissolved earlier this month.
—Agencies