<p>Incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe was today set for another term as Sri Lanka's Prime Minister after his rival Mahinda Rajapaksa's hopes of staging a political comeback were shattered and he conceded defeat in the parliamentary polls.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Prime Minister-designate Wickremesinghe said the victory achieved by his United National Party (UNP) was a mandate given by the people for good governance.<br /><br />"I offer my grateful thanks to all parties and individuals who worked untiringly during the election period to ensure victory for the people. We have been able to create a peaceful atmosphere needed for a free and fair election," the 66-year-old leader said.<br /><br />He said people have backed the revolution achieved on January 8 and want that to continue.<br /><br />"We have to unitedly work towards lifting the nation to a new height by facing challenges of the new era. I invite all of you to join hands with us to face the challenges of our mission," Wickremesinghe said.<br /><br />His statement came after Rajapaksa said his United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) had lost after a close battle with the UNP.<br /><br />The 69-year-old two-time president was quoted as saying that he conceded defeat "after a good fight".<br /><br />Although final results were yet to be announced, UNP had won 93 seats while UPFA had won 83 seats. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party had won four seats.<br /><br />Election authorities said the UNP will fall short of an absolute majority of 113 by at least four seats in the 225-member Parliament.<br /><br />Wickremasinghe was set to take oath in a simple ceremony at the Presidential Secretariat while the cabinet of national government was to be appointed later.<br /><br />In the north's Tamil districts, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) appeared to have made a clean sweep by winning three districts.<br /><br />President Maithripala Sirisena, who defeated Rajapaksa in the January presidential polls, had vowed not to make the former strongman premier even if his UPFA wins a majority.<br /><br />A group of Sirisena supporters is likely to join a broad- based national unity government led by Wickremesinghe, who was appointed as Premier soon after Sirisena came to power.<br /><br />Sirisena was Rajapaksa's health minister until he came forward as the opposition unity candidate to challenge the then president last year.<br /><br />A total of 196 Parliament members are elected for a five-year term while 29 are appointed based on the national proportion of votes polled by each party. <br /></p>
<p>Incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe was today set for another term as Sri Lanka's Prime Minister after his rival Mahinda Rajapaksa's hopes of staging a political comeback were shattered and he conceded defeat in the parliamentary polls.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Prime Minister-designate Wickremesinghe said the victory achieved by his United National Party (UNP) was a mandate given by the people for good governance.<br /><br />"I offer my grateful thanks to all parties and individuals who worked untiringly during the election period to ensure victory for the people. We have been able to create a peaceful atmosphere needed for a free and fair election," the 66-year-old leader said.<br /><br />He said people have backed the revolution achieved on January 8 and want that to continue.<br /><br />"We have to unitedly work towards lifting the nation to a new height by facing challenges of the new era. I invite all of you to join hands with us to face the challenges of our mission," Wickremesinghe said.<br /><br />His statement came after Rajapaksa said his United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) had lost after a close battle with the UNP.<br /><br />The 69-year-old two-time president was quoted as saying that he conceded defeat "after a good fight".<br /><br />Although final results were yet to be announced, UNP had won 93 seats while UPFA had won 83 seats. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party had won four seats.<br /><br />Election authorities said the UNP will fall short of an absolute majority of 113 by at least four seats in the 225-member Parliament.<br /><br />Wickremasinghe was set to take oath in a simple ceremony at the Presidential Secretariat while the cabinet of national government was to be appointed later.<br /><br />In the north's Tamil districts, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) appeared to have made a clean sweep by winning three districts.<br /><br />President Maithripala Sirisena, who defeated Rajapaksa in the January presidential polls, had vowed not to make the former strongman premier even if his UPFA wins a majority.<br /><br />A group of Sirisena supporters is likely to join a broad- based national unity government led by Wickremesinghe, who was appointed as Premier soon after Sirisena came to power.<br /><br />Sirisena was Rajapaksa's health minister until he came forward as the opposition unity candidate to challenge the then president last year.<br /><br />A total of 196 Parliament members are elected for a five-year term while 29 are appointed based on the national proportion of votes polled by each party. <br /></p>