Sri Lanka’s Tamils pin hopes on change
Tamil National Alliance, largely from the northern peninsula, backed surprise winner Sirisena in presidential poll.
Sri Lanka’s new President Maithripala Sirisena has come to power with pledges to investigate corruption and change the political system.
He managed to secure the votes of the Tamil minority and they now have high hopes that his new government will look after their interests, which they say former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government did not.
Rajapaksa conceded power to Sirisena following his surprise loss in Thursday’s snap election amid corruption allegations against him.
While the election has been touted as one of the country’s most peaceful, some reports allege that Rajapaksa inititiated an attempt at the eleventh hour to hold on to power.
Al Jazeera’s Minelle Fernandez reports on the Tamil vote from Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka.