Mahinda Rajapaksa, who defied the odds to vanquish the Tamil Tigers last year, was on Wednesday re-elected Sri Lankan president with a thumping majority as the opposition cried foul and main challenger Gen Sarath Fonseka found himself under siege with his hotel surrounded by the army.

Rajapaksa defeated the former army chief by a handsome margin. Rajapaksa won 5.5 million votes, or 57.81 per cent of the total vote, while Fonseka got 40.21 per cent, according to a tally of the results announced so far.