The military operation that ended a long war back in 2009 effectively crushed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), but it never managed to politically change the areas of Sri Lanka with a Tamil majority -known as Tamil Eelam, or Tamil homeland-, in the North and East coast of the island. Even more, it didn't succeed in winning the Tamils over with promises of reconstruction and economic development.

The Tamil people voted en masse for Tamil parties and thus rejected President Mahinda Rajapaksa's plan to solve a political conflict by economic means. The Tamil National Alliance, which some analysts link to the military defeated LTTE, has won 15 out of 20 local bodies; the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) won two, while the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) won the remaining three.

This sends a clear message to the Government in Colombo: a demand for a political solution which includes autonomy for the Tamil territories -the TNA dropped its bid for independence on 2009- and to address grievances of the Tamil population. TNA leader Mavi Senathiraja told Time that "the government campaign was based on the development work, the [northern] voters have however shown what is important to them", endorsing the TNA's push for more authority being assigned to regional bodies.

Rajapaksa's party UPFA swept the polls in the south of the country, ethnically dominated by the Sinhalese population, which clearly approves the policies of the government regarding the Tamil conflict.

Further information:

• Asia Times: Setback for Rajapaksa's reconciliation
• Bernama.com: Sri Lankan Tamils Voted For Political Change, Say MPs
• Time: In Sri Lanka, the Ballot Takes Over where the Bullet Ruled