Sri Lanka's hawkish prime minister, Mahinda Rajapakse, won the island's presidency on Friday after a Tamil Tiger boycott torpedoed his main rival, and vowed to forge an "honourable peace" with the rebels. Thursday's poll was seen as a referendum on how to rescue the island's faltering peace process and tsunami-hit economy, but the rebels scared away ethnic Tamil voters who had been expected to back opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. "I will bring about an honourable peace to the country, respecting all communities," Rajapakse told a news conference after the election commissioner confirmed his victory. "Democracy will be strengthened and law and order will be established in the country," he added. "For me, power is not an ornament, but a means to serve the people." Rajapakse polled 4,887,152 votes, or 50.29 percent of the vote, and Wickremesinghe 4,706,366 votes or 48.43 percent, Reuters reported.
