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Even though the polls are over election related violence is on the rise, with killings, intimidation and repression of free speech.

Opposition political parties took to the streets to protest the election results and the clamp down on political opponents.

Our  Ponniah Manikavasagam in Colombo reports on the aftermath of the presidential election.

For the first time thousands of opposition supporters take to the streets of the capital to protest the election result.  

Unarmed policemen keep a low profile as a large crowd surged blocking many streets and then enter Hyde Park ground for a meeting.

One female protestor speaking in Sinhalese explains why they came.

“We didn’t come here to block the streets. We are here to express our protest to the election. We came to demand justice for robbing our votes.”

The opposition alleged the incumbent president robbed their votes by what they call ‘computer rigging’.

Defeated Candidate former Army chief Sarath Fonseka says the result is incorrect.

“On the votes counting day, our party agents had been assaulted and chased away from the counting centres. And we have complained about this.”

But the Election Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake says that he stands by the election results.

“Polling was peaceful and the results are accurate. If any one has doubt about this, they can go to the courts within 21 days from the announcement of the election results. There is provision in the law for this.”

Analysts say the opposition parties do not have concrete evidence to prove the election fraud.

But election commissioner Dayananda says he was unhappy about the way the government side used state property during the campaign.

The elections may be over but political violence continues.

Britto Fernando is a prominent activist of the rights group Platform for Freedom in Negombo in the north western part of the island.

“In my area at Negombo many the supporters of the general Sarath Fonseka were threatened and shot at. So as a speaker in the Platform of Freedom, we are afraid of for anything can happen to us at any time.”

She says critics of the government are viewed as a threat to national security.

Keerthi Tennakoon is the director of the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections known as CaFFE.

He says they have recorded more than hundred and fifty cases of political violence after the election.

“And this is rising and the gravity of the incidents are in unbelievable scale in some areas.”

He says that he has reasons to doubt whether there is democracy in the country.

“The people have not gone to the police stations or other relevant authorities to complain. That itself says the story. The victimized people has no faith in the law enforcing authorities and we cannot think we have the democratic process in all. Just because this is a very bad situation.”

On December 24th just two days before the polling, a political reporter for a news website went missing.

He had been critical of the government throughout the election campaign.

Senior newspaper editor Vithyatharan says the government is intimidating the press.

“If the government wanted to protect the media and free speech then the oppression would stop in a minute. But the question is does the government want to do that?”