Ex-Sri Lankan president votes in come-back bid

Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Monday arrived at a polling center in his southern hometown of Hambantota to cast his vote for a parliamentary election held in the island nation.

Rajapakse, who was defeated by his close aide and one time Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena in a presidential election in January, is looking at becoming the country's new prime minister if his opposition United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) wins majority in Monday's polls.

"I am confident in victory," he told reporters after casting his vote along with his wife and sons. His UPFA is aiming at 113 seats at least to win a majority to form a government.

Rajapakse's re-entry back into the political arena has been strongly opposed by President Sirisena, who is also the party chairman, and a group of party members who defected to join Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's United National Front (UNF) to contest the polls.

In the month long election campaigning which ended on Friday, the former leader vowed to provide relief to the poor and increase the salaries of the public sector employees.

He also pledged to focus more on education and provide broadband facilities to all families so that the younger generation could enter the online market.

He also promised to introduce a new constitution within six months. Endi