Incumbent Sri Lankan president takes lead in 2015 election

APD

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The first result of Sri Lanka's 2015 Presidential Election was released late on Thursday with incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa achieving leading number of votes.

Among votes by government servants in the Ratnapura District, located between the southern plains and the hill country to the east, Mahinda Rajapaksa received 11,864 votes and the opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena gained 9,053.

The result of the votes by government servants is usually released first and in-between the main district results are released. Sri Lanka's Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said that the final results in the polls is expected to be released on Friday.