Sri Lankans took to the ballot boxes on Wednesday for parliamentary elections. The elections came three months after the disputed presidential elections, which were marked by violence and fraud allegations. Soon after becoming president, Mahinda Rajapaksa dissolved Parliament and called new elections. Opposition parties have raised concerns that if Rajapaksa reaches a majority in Parliament he will try to change the constitution in order to be able to stay in power after his second term in 2017, AP reports. Rajapaksa’s main political opponent, former army chief Sarath Fonseka, was arrested immediately after losing the presidential elections and charged with participating in politics while still in uniform, a claim dismissed by Fonseka and his supporters. The turnout for the parliamentary elections was estimated at 50-55 percent by independent monitors, what could be a historic low for Sri Lanka. “It seems the people have lost enthusiasm in the elections, despite the heavy number of candidates,” Hirantha Iddamalgoda of a local election monitoring group told AP.
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