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26 January 2010

Sri Lankan election: in pictures

As a war-scarred nation heads to the polls, here are images from the turbulent run-up to the preside

By Samira Shackle

Sri Lankans are voting in the country’s first election since the Tamil Tigers were crushed. Above, a supporter at an election rally wears a swan mask. Swans are the election symbol of the former army commander and opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka.

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Supporters of the incumbent president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, attend another rally.

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An opposition activist, Tiran Alles, addresses the media from his house, damaged in a grenade attack that has been blamed on the ruling party.

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Buddhist monks pray at a “prayer of determination” ceremony.

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Sri Lankan cyclists pass an election poster in Vavuniya, north of Colombo. It is estimated that between 80,000 and 100,000 people died during the insurgency, which lasted nearly 40 years.

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Wreckage at the home of Tiran Alles, campaign manager for Sarath Fonseka.

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Rickshaws adorned with Fonseka’s image.

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In Vavuniya a displaced ethnic Tamil, Sithambaram Ratnasingam, displays her passport after she was denied permission to vote today.

All photographs from AFP/Getty Images.

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