Colombo: Sri Lanka's election commissioner has rejected allegations that last week's presidential vote was rigged by incumbent Mahinda Rajapakse. Dayananda Dissanayake said in Colombo that he stood by the results, which gave Rajapakse 58 per cent of the ballot,

trouncing opposition-backed former general Sarath Fonseka, who got 40 per cent. But he raised questions over unfair campaigning.

Dissanayake said he had no control over the misuse of state property and government-owned media during campaigning, and expressed fears that similar issues would occur at upcoming parliamentary elections. He said, it is up to concerned individuals, the political parties and the candidates to go to court to redress this situation. Fonseka has vowed to challenge the result in court after alleging sophisticated computer fraud. Rajapakse called the election four years into his six-year term in a bid to capitalise on popular support for the defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels in May. A team of poll experts from the Commonwealth Secretariat said voting had been well-administered but highlighted what it called a compromised pre-election environment.