A petition has been filed in the Sri Lanka's Supreme Court by New Democratic Front challenging the election of President Mahinda Rajapaksa,alleging that there had been widespread discrepancies in vote count. The petition was filed yesterday by Shyamila Perea,the General Secretary of the New Democratic Front under which defeated Presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka contested the January elections against incumbent Rajapaksa. The NDF,comprised of many opposition parties,has named Election Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake and the Attorney General in the petition. The petition said the sovereignty guaranteed in the country's constitution had been violated due to the actions of the Commissioner of Elections. It said the public right to equality before the law has been violated due to the "illegal acts" that took place while counting the votes. The petition alleged that the Commissioner of Elections was not able to secure an accurate counting of votes at the Presidential Election on January 26.
