President’s gamble fails as rival wins Sri Lanka election

Rajapaksa acknowledged the defeat on his official Twitter account Friday, writing: “I value and respect our democratic process and the people’s verdict, and look forward to the peaceful transition of power.”

Sirisena would be sworn in at 6 p.m. local time in Colombo’s Independence Square, Dhanushka Ramanayake, the head of his media unit, said.

The defeat of the once untouchable president, the longest-serving political leader in the region, was the result of a failed electoral gamble.

In November, the 69-year-old called elections two years earlier than required, only to be shocked by the defection of many key political allies, including the man who would unseat him.

The defections apparently wrong-footed Rajapaksa, and the opposition had the better of the campaign, say analysts.

“He didn’t expect the candidate to be Sirisena,” said Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director of Sri Lanka’s Center for Policy Alternatives.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he had called Sirisena, and congratulated “the people of Sri Lanka on the peaceful & democratic poll process.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry congratulated Rajapaksa on accepting the results “in the proud tradition of peaceful and orderly transfers of power,” and said he looked forward to working with Sirisena on implementing his platform of building a “Sri Lanka that is peaceful, inclusive, democratic, and prosperous.”

Jayatilleke said there was a sense of satisfaction in Sri Lanka that, five years after the end of a decades-long civil war, the country had witnessed a smooth transfer of power.

“That’s something that any society can be proud of,” he said.

CNN’s Sumnima Udas and Iqbal Athas contributed to this story.

CNN