US looks forward to work with new president

The United States Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement that he is looking forward to working with the President-elect Maithripala Sirisena and commending outgoing Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his graceful handover of power to the new President, a statement said. Secretary Kerry said the Sri Lankan people deserve great credit on the successful conclusion of their elections. "They turned out in great numbers to exercise their democratic rights and every vote was a victory for Sri Lanka." "The United States applauds the Sri Lankan Elections Commissioner, the security forces, Sri Lankan civil society, and the candidates themselves for making sure this election was not marred by unrest and for ensuring a significant drop in campaign-related violence. It will be important for that effort to continue in the coming days." Secretary Kerry commended President Rajapaksa for accepting the results of the election in the proud tradition of peaceful and orderly transfers of power in Sri Lanka. "His words tonight about accepting the verdict of the people and moving forward are important," the U.S. official said. "I look forward to working with President-elect Maithripala Sirisena as his new government works to implement its campaign platform of a Sri Lanka that is peaceful, inclusive, democratic, and prosperous," he added.