Vote for a 'known devil': Rajapakse

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse (L) holds a baby as he interacts with supporters as a rally in the northern town of Vavuniya, yesterday. Photo: AFP

Sri Lanka's embattled President Mahinda Rajapakse yesterday urged minority Tamils to back him in next week's election, calling himself the "known devil", as he pitched for votes in the country's former war zone.

While he remains popular among ethnic majority Sinhalese voters, Rajapakse is widely detested by members of the country's biggest minority after overseeing the brutal crushing of a 37-year Tamil rebellion.

The main Tamil party has already endorsed Rajapakse's chief rival Maithripala Sirisena in the January 8 election but the incumbent told voters in the northern Jaffna region that he was committed to improving their livelihoods, pointing to improvements in infrastructure.

"This is my 11th visit to Jaffna as president," Rajapakse, who is South Asia's longest-serving leader after coming to power in 2005, told a rally.

"The devil you know is better than the unknown angel," he said in Sinhala, speaking through a translator.

"I am the known devil, so please vote for me."

Tamils account for around 13 percent of the 15 million people entitled to cast their ballots next Thursday and their choice of candidate could be crucial to the outcome of what is shaping up to be a tight contest.

Rajapakse had been the clear favourite but a series of defections by allies, including his one-time health minister Sirisena, have thrown the contest wide open and the president now needs every vote he can muster.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka yesterday warned the European Union not to be "prescriptive" about next week's presidential elections after Colombo-based ambassadors urged the government to ensure a peaceful election.

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