Opposition presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena said that he is a “patriot” of Sri Lanka, stating he was the Acting Defence Minister during the final days of the armed conflict in May 2009.

In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Maithri assured readers he is a “patriot” saying,

“I was the Minister in Charge of Defence during the last two weeks of the war in which most of the leaders of the LTTE were killed with General Fonseka at the helm of the Army.”

“Prior to that I have acted as the Minister of Defence five times during the height of the war.”

Sri Lanka’s incumbent president Mahinda Rajapaksa has called on the Tamil people of the North-East to vote for him in the upcoming presidential elections, calling himself “the known devil”.

Speaking in Jaffna through an interpreter, Rajapaksa said,

"The devil you know is better than the unknown angel… I am the known devil, so please vote for me."

Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Ministry slammed the European Union (EU) after it called on the government to conduct elections without “fear and violence” on Friday.

In response to the EU call, Sri Lanka released a statement saying,

"Domestic elections are not for foreign government representatives to be prescriptive about, that too, a few days ahead of the polls."

The statement went on to say,

“It is therefore surprising that the EU Heads of Mission in Colombo should have resorted to a press statement on an issue of a strictly domestic nature. Such an initiative could bring into question the bona-fides and objectivity of their intervention.”

Sri Lanka’s opposition candidate for the upcoming presidential elections escaped injury after stones were thrown at him, whilst he addressed an election rally in the south of the island.

Maithripala Sirisena was addressing a rally in Pelmadulla on Friday when an unknown group of people threw stones towards the stage.

Sirisena’s security guards and Sri Lankan troops stepped in to ensure he escaped unharmed but approximately 20 of his supporters who were present at the rally suffered injuries.

Incumbent Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa warned that he will not allow anyone to “take the country back” after victory against separatism, in his New Year’s message.

“The separatism that was defeated with great commitment and sacrifice is raising its head again in different forms,” said Rajapaksa, in a statement released on Thursday.

“All those who value national unity and the sovereignty of the country should look far ahead with single-minded determination to protect the nation.”