Sri Lanka Voters' Face Choice for President: 'Devil They Know' Or 'Unknown Angel'

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa asked voters to elect him for the third time as presidential polls on Thursday bring the country to crossroads.

The country's current chief urged voters to support him as "the devil they know" instead of giving a chance to an "unknown angel" who swore to rid the country of corruption and political decay.

There have been no reliable opinion surveys, but many believe that the opposition candidate, Mithripala Sirisena, may defeat Rajapaksa and usher in major changes to the country, Reuters reported.

Rajapaksa called the election two years early amid ebbing public support, confident that the opposition will not find a winnable challenger.

However, he did not expect the candidacy of Sirisena, who earlier quit as one of his ministers and shifted sides to be the opposition's presidential bet, causing a deluge of defections from the government.

"It has been a big shock for the president," a Western diplomat in Colombo was quoted by Reuters as saying. "The government looks a bit desperate."

Rajapaksa earned around 58 percent of the votes in the last election, riding on the defeat in 2009 of Tamil Tiger separatists who fought against the government for more than two decades.

State-controlled TV stations showed clips of the recent attack of suspected Islamist militants at the offices of a satirical magazine in Paris before showing footages of the Sri Lankan war.

"When we see these images we also remember the history of terrorism in Sri Lanka," the announcer said.

Some 15 million are eligible to vote at over 12,000 polling centers nationwide, with results expected to be announced on Friday.

Despite rumors in Colombo that force may be used to keep Sirisena voters away, that poll results might be tampered, or that the military might be deployed if Rajapaksa is set to lose, Chief Election Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya assured reporters that no electoral fraud will occur. "Don't worry about this election. This election will be free and fair," he said.

Washington already expressed its desire to see a "credible, peaceful and inclusive" process, with State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki saying: "We urge the government, its election officials and police, all political parties and actors to ensure access to all vote centers for the voters to vote and counting centers for all international and domestic observers."

Amnesty International, however, said in its website that three key activists and opposition campaigners -- Brito Fernando, Phillip Dissanayake and Prasanga Fernando -- received death threats.

"These death threats against activists who have been peacefully defending human rights are utterly deplorable. The Sri Lankan authorities must do their utmost to find and hold to account those responsible, and send a clear signal that threats and violence around the elections will not be tolerated," said David Griffiths, Amnesty International's Deputy Asia Pacific Director.

"These threats come against the backdrop of a violent election campaign, in which opposition activists have overwhelmingly borne the brunt of attacks. The government must ensure that people can vote without fear on election day, and that there are no repercussions afterwards regardless of the outcome."