Sri Lanka's tense presidential race deepens ethic divides

Sri Lanka's Investment Promotion Deputy Minister Faizer Mustapha quit the government on Monday and pledged to support the opposition candidate in one of the tightest presidential races in the island's history.

The deputy minister announced his support for Opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena. He also resigned from Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) headed by incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

"I have made this decision for the sake of a united country," Mustapha told cheering crowds in Colombo as he joined the opposition on stage.

Mustapha, belongs to the Muslim minority that makes up about 10 percent of Sri Lanka's population of 20.4 million.

Ahead of his crossover both the All Ceylon Makkal Congress ( ACMC) led by former Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) led by former Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem decided to support the common candidate.

With the defection of Muslim parties, the government lost its two-third majority in parliament.

Sri Lanka's presidential race has become intense with multiple crossovers from the government to the Opposition and support from minority Muslim parties to Rajapaksa's opponent.

Sri Lanka's main Tamil party on Tuesday also decided to support the opposition, putting the bulk of the country's minorities on the opposition's side.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) showed early signs of supporting the opposition, chalking up their decision to festering differences with Rajapaksa's government over devolution of power, since the end of a three-decade war in 2009.

Tamils make up an estimated 12 percent of the minority population.

Wholesale minority crossovers have deeply divided Sri Lanka's people along sensitive ethnic lines.

Nonetheless, Rajapaksa is still extremely popular among the Sinhala Buddhist vote base that make up about 70 percent of the population and has been ramping up the ante by distributing handouts of money and even motorcycles as well as promising jobs.

Rajapaksa was expected to run largely uncontested when he called for snap presidential polls in late November, two years ahead of his second term ending, but an unexpected rival appeared when his former Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena joined the opposition.

The opposition's rallying cry has been criticizing rampant corruption, nepotism and declining governance in the country. They have pledged to end the controversial executive presidency in 100 days if elected on Jan. 8.

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