Most voters say they want peace and prosperity Polls have opened in Sri Lanka in the country's the presidential election, which comes after a bitter campaign. Early voters have been seen queuing up near the capital, Colombo. A few hours ago, people in the northern Tamil city of Jaffna reported hearing four blasts. The election is the first since the Tamil Tiger rebels were defeated last year after 25 years of war. President Mahinda Rajapaksa is facing a tough test against his former army chief-turned-rival Gen Sarath Fonseka. More than 14m voters are eligible to vote in 11,000 centres from 0700 local time (0130GMT). Polls will close at 1600 local time. Counting will begin three hours later and the final results are expected to be announced on Wednesday morning, the election commission has said. There are 22 candidates standing for the presidency. If no candidate has 50% plus one vote after the first count, second preferences will be tallied and the candidate with the greatest number of votes wins. Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement 'Remarkable victory' About 250,000 Sri Lankan election officials have moved into position throughout the country after collecting polling cards and ballot boxes from central election offices. President Rajapaksa and Gen Fonseka had a falling out last year Security is tight amid fears of violence and more than 68,000 police are being deployed to protect the polling stations. Among the early voters was President Rajapaksa. "Today's victory will be remarkable. It's been evident with voters across the nation participating towards our victory," news agency Reuters quoted Mr Rajapaksa as saying after voting in Medamulana, his rural district on the southern coast. "We expect a peaceful election and are getting ready to enjoy a better tomorrow." Most voters say they are voting for peace and an improved economy. "What I expect in the future is that in the same way peace was established, the cost of living will be brought down and the unemployment problem will be solved," Reuters quoted security guard Jayantha Perera as saying. Hours before the polling booths opened at dawn, people in Jaffna reported hearing up to four blasts. Acrimonious campaign A monitoring group said two bombs were thrown at a ruling party organiser while another account said an opposition MP's home and two polling booths were targeted, the BBC's Charles Haviland reports from Colombo. Police in Jaffna told the BBC they had no information of any trouble. The two-month-long campaign, often marked by acrimony, officially closed on Saturday. Election clashes have so far left four dead and hundreds wounded. "We had in this election I think a scale of abuse of state resources which had not been registered before," news agency Reuters quoted Dr Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, co-convenor of the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence, as saying. But he added: "If enough Sri Lankan citizens go in large numbers as we have always done in the past and for over six decades... resisting the violence and the intimidation... then we may well get a result that at the end of the day reflects overall the wishes of the people of this country." On Sunday, President Rajapaksa suffered a blow when ex-President Chandrika Kumaratunga vowed to back his rival. Mrs Kumaratunga, a senior member of Mr Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka Freedom Party, said she was deeply concerned about violence, intimidation and corruption in the fiercely-contested poll. President Rajapaksa and Gen Fonseka were closely associated with the government's defeat of the Tamil Tigers last May but the pair fell out bitterly soon after.
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Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2006 Ballots are being counted in Sri Lanka, after a presidential election was held there, the first after the Tamil Tiger rebels were defeated during a 25-year-long civil war.

The incumbent president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, is expected to be in a close race against former army chief, General Sarath Fonseka; both candidates say they expect to win. There are twenty other candidates on the ballot, but none of them are expected to win.

Polls closed at 16.00 local time, or 10.30 GMT on Tuesday. There were claims of voter intimidation and sporadic acts of violence, and the BBC reports that there were some small bomb blasts. The independent operating organisation Centre for Monitoring Election Violence said it had confirmed close to a hundred violent incidents during the day, adding that it believes the number could rise to 150.

Tamil politician Dharmalingam Sithadthan, however, described the voting as "very peaceful".

Polls were reportedly busy, with stations in the capital of Colombo being filled with lines of people half an hour before polls officially opened at 07.00 (01.30 UTC).

"I have been voting at this booth for over 20 years but never saw a crowd like this," said  businessman Mohamed Sallel, who had voted in the Borella district of the capital, as quoted by The Telegraph. Another voter, Doctor Nimalka Perera, gave an account of the crowds: "When I first came here, the queue was too long so I went back and came two hours later on my way to the hospital and found the line even longer."  

President Rajapakse, after voting in his home constituency, addressed reporters. "We will have a great victory. We must be ready to face the challenges of reaching new heights after this vote," he said.

Fonseka, however, wasn't able to cast a ballot, apparently because his name didn't appear on the 2008 electroral register used for the elections.

"My name is not on the 2008 register and therefore I cannot vote at this election. The government is trying to use this to mislead the public at the last minute," Fonseka stated, saying that he had filled out his voter registration forms.

Foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama, as well as other politicians from the ruling party, suggested that Fonseka might be disqualified from the elections. "We are seeking a court order on the suitability of this candidate because he is not eligible to be declared as a candidate," Bogollagama said, adding that the government wanted a ruling from the courts.

Independent elections commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake, however, remarked: "Not having one's name on the electoral list is not a disqualification."

The country's electoral rules state that if neither candidate is able to obtain half of the ballots cast in the first count, then voters' second preferences are to be used to determine the winner. Political observers commented that election was too close to call between the two.