Ex-Lankan army chief Fonseka files documents for new political party

Colombo: Sri Lanka’s former army chief Sarath Fonseka today filed documents to register a new political party under his leadership. Fonseka visited the Election Commission office and filed the documents to Commissioner of Elections Mahinda Deshapriya to register the party called the Democratic Party, local media reported. [caption id=“attachment_657408” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Sarath Fonseka. AFP[/caption] Fonseka told reporters he is optimistic that the registration would be approved by the Elections Commissioner soon. “The ball is now in his court. I believe he will register my Party,” Fonseka, 62, said. As Commander of the armed forces, he played akey role in ending the nearly three decade long civil war in 2009, defeating the Tamil rebels. Fonseka contested the 2010 Presidential elections under Democratic National Alliance but lost to President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Following his election defeat, Fonseka was arrested and court-martialed for committing “military offences.” He was found guilty of corrupt military supply deals and sentenced to three years in prison. After serving more than two years in prison, Fonseka was released in May, 2012. PTI