COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa won a resounding re-election victory, state media reported today, beating back a challenge from his former army chief who said he feared arrest after hundreds of troops surrounded his hotel.

People hit the streets in celebration, setting off fireworks, waving Sri Lankan flags and holding up posters of a smiling Rajapaksa. Policemen at intersections smiled and waved at the revelers. But the troop deployment also meant the capital remained tense.

With nearly all ballots counted, Rajapaksa won 5.9 million votes, or 58 per cent, to Sarath Fonseka’s 4.1 million, or 40 per cent, according to state TV. Turnout was about 70 per cent. The president now

must rebuild the country after last year’s successful

offensive to destroy the Tamil Tiger separatists after 25 years of conflict. Rajapaksa “has won a historic and resounding victory in the first free and

fair elections held throughout the country since the defeat of terrorism,” said Lucien Rajakarunanayake, a spokesman for the president.

There was no immediate reaction from Fonseka’s camp. The official results were expected to be released later in the day. As the returns came in, troops surrounded the Cinnamon Lake Hotel after about 400 people, including alleged army deserters, gathered inside with Fonseka, military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara said.

The troops remained there throughout the day.

“We don’t know what’s their motive, and as a protective measure we have deployed troops around the hotel, and people who go in and come out are being checked,” Nanayakkara told The Associated Press. He said there were no plans to arrest Fonseka.

But, in a letter to the election commission, Fonseka said the troops were preventing him from leaving. Three of his employees were arrested and he feared arrest himself, he said.

“I ask you to order the police and the relevant security authorities to ensure my safety and my freedom of movement,” he wrote. Opposition lawmaker Rauf Hakeem told reporters outside the hotel there were no deserters inside.

Some observers fear that a dispute over the results could lead to street protests.