Sri Lankans vote in first peacetime presidential election in nearly 3 decades

Two former allies who led Sri Lanka to victory in a 25-year civil war dueled at the ballot box Tuesday after a bitter campaign for the country's first peacetime presidential vote in nearly three decades.

In a voting-day surprise, challenger Sarath Fonseka acknowledged he was not registered to vote, but the Election Commission said that by itself did not affect his eligibility to contest.

Fonseka, a retired general, has mounted a strong challenge to President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a close race in which the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in May has figured heavily in campaigning, with both men claiming credit.

Counting began Tuesday with postal ballots, and the final result is expected by midday Wednesday. The earliest returns, with 26,000 postal votes counted, showed Rajapaksa leading with 69 percent and Fonseka with about 30 percent.