TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi has congratulated Sri Lanka for holding a successful presidential election on Saturday.

In a message on Monday, Mousavi congratulated the Sri Lankan government and people after they voted to elect Gotabaya Rajapaksa as their new president.

He also expressed hopes that the Iran-Sri Lanka relations will further deepen in the new era.

Rajapaksa won the Sri Lankan presidential election after a closely fought race against ruling party candidate Sajith Premadasa, with the country’s Election Commission declaring him the winner on Sunday.

“I would like to inform everyone that I will execute everything you trusted in me [to do],” he said at the results announcement, flanked by his brother Mahinda, a former two-time president.

“Especially, at this moment, I happily say that I will carry out all that is in my manifesto during my tenure,” he added, according to Al Jazeera.

Rajapaksa, a former defense secretary during Mahinda’s 10 years in power, based his campaign for Saturday’s election on providing strong leadership on national security issues, following coordinated bombings in April that killed 269 people.

Rajapaksa secured victory with 52.25 percent of the vote, according to final results announced by Sri Lanka's Election Commission, more than the 50 percent margin needed to ensure a runoff was not required.

MH/PA