The two contenders briefly put aside their animosity to shake hands and exchange pleasantries before the cameras after filing their nominations.
Battle lines were drawn today for a fierce showdown between two erstwhile allies — the incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa and the country's former top military commander Sarath Fonseka — as they filed their nomination papers for Sri Lanka's presidential elections.
It will be mainly a clash between the two, even as 22 other candidates also entered the presidential fray.
While Rajapaksa is ruling United People Freedom Alliance (UPFA) nominee, his rival Fonseka is being backed by a alliance of opposition parties led by United National Party (UNP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).
Flanked by a large number of supporters, Rajapaksa dressed in white, filed his nomination papers at the Election Commission office this morning.
Rajapaksa called the January 26 election, two years earlier than scheduled, to cash in on his popularity following the defeat earlier this year of the Tamil Tigers rebels, ending the nearly three-decade-old ethnic conflict.
But what initially appeared to be an easy passage, turned into a big fight when Fonseka, his former Army chief, rebelled to contest against him.
The two contenders briefly put aside their animosity to shake hands and exchange pleasantries before the cameras after filing their nominations.
Election commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake said that independent monitors from Commonwealth and Asian countries had agreed to monitor what could be one of the keenest election.
Though 23 people filed their nominations, barring a nomination, of Sri Lanka Progressive Front candidate JA Peter Nelson Perera, all other papers were found valid and were accepted. This is the largest number of candidates in a presidential race so far.
Of the 23 candidates, who filed nominations, 18 are from recognised political parties, and the rest are independents.
Apart from the two main rivals, other prominent candidates include Sirithunga Jayasooriya (United Socialist Front), MB Thaminimulla (Okkoma Vesiyo-Okkoma Rajavaru Sanvidhanaya), J Sarath Manamendra (Nava Sihala Urumaya) and Achala Asoka Suraweera (National Development Front), among others.
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