Colombo, Aug. 7 -- Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa polled a record-breaking 527,364 preferential votes in the Kurunegala District race to claim the premiership.

With his vote haul at Wednesday's poll, Rajapaksa smashed Ranil Wickramasinghe's record of 500,566 preferential votes in the Colombo District, when he contested as the UNP prime ministerial candidate in 2015.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Asian Tribune....