As former president Mahinda Rajapaksa comes toterms with his second electoral defeat in eightmonths, many in Sri Lanka are also predicting whatonce seemed unthinkable: the final political demise of a leader who, until just a year ago,seemed to hold an iron grip on their country.

斯里蘭卡前總統馬欣達拉賈帕克薩(Mahinda Rajapaksa)不得不接受8個月內第二次在選舉中落敗的事實。與此同時，在許多斯里蘭卡人的預期中，出現了一度似乎不可想象的一幕：一位在短短一年前似乎還嚴密掌控著國家權柄的領導人，就要走上政治末路。

Mr Rajapaksa hoped Tuesday’s result would herald an unlikely comeback — allowing him toseize the office of prime minister while simultaneously avenging his downfall at the hands offormer party ally Maithripala Sirisena in presidential elections in January.

拉賈帕克薩曾希望，周二公布的選舉結果能讓他可能性不大的東山再起夢想成真，讓他能在奪取總理寶座的同時，報今年1月在總統選舉中被前黨內盟友邁特里帕拉纏里塞納(Maithripala Sirisena)趕下臺的一箭之仇。

Instead, his Sri Lanka Freedom party trailed in second behind the centre-right United Nationalparty. The result leaves the UNP's Ranil Wickremesinghe set to return as prime minister, havingclaimed victory on Tuesday, and form a new coalition government in the island’s 225-memberparliament. Analysts say Mr Rajapaksa’s departure — after a 10-year rule — could herald a newera, one in which Sri Lanka faces up to brutality of its past and distances itself from its oncecosy relationship with Beijing.

然而事與愿違，他領導的斯里蘭卡自由黨(Freedom party)在此次選舉中落在中右翼統一國民黨(UnitedNational party)之后，屈居第二。這一結果令統一國民黨的拉尼爾維克勒馬辛哈(Ranil Wickremesinghe)得以回歸總理寶座，并在斯里蘭卡225人組成的議會中構建新的聯合政府。維克勒馬辛哈已在周二宣布勝選。分析人士表示，拉賈帕克薩在統治斯里蘭卡十年后離開政治舞臺，或預示著斯里蘭卡邁入新時代。在這個新時代里，斯里蘭卡將直面過去的殘暴行徑，并淡化與中國一度十分親密的關系。

As in January's contest, Mr Rajapaksa’s appeals to the Sinhalese-speaking Buddhist majorityfailed to rack up enough votes to overcome more liberal-minded urban voters, alongsidethose backing Tamil parties, which won overwhelmingly in the island’s north.

和今年1月的選舉一樣，拉賈帕克薩對占人口多數的講僧伽羅語的佛教徒的拉攏，未能為他帶來足夠的選票，以擊敗思想傾向自由主義的城市選民以及那些支持泰米爾黨派的選民。在斯里蘭卡北部，泰米爾黨派取得了壓倒性勝利。

At a deeper level, however, analysts said the result represented a rejection of the muscularnationalism embodied by Mr Rajapaksa's rule, borne of his role as victor in the island's civil war,which ended in a crushing defeat for the Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009.

不過，分析人士表示，這一選舉結果從更深層次來說，意味著對拉賈帕克薩統治所體現的強硬民族主義的拒絕。拉賈帕克薩是以斯里蘭卡內戰勝利者身份確立這種統治的。2009年，這場內戰以泰米爾猛虎組織(TamilTiger)叛軍的全面失敗告終。

“The hope must now be that a double defeat means Sri Lanka can move on, and begin tosolve some of the issues of post-war reconciliation and devolution of power that have beenso difficult, says Alan Keenan of the International Crisis Group.

國際危機組織(International Crisis Group)的艾倫蘒塊(Alan Keenan)表示：“目前的全部希望在于，(拉賈帕克薩的)二次落敗意味著斯里蘭卡能夠走出過去的陰影，著手解決部分戰后和解與權力下放問題。這些問題一直難以得到解決。

Making good on promises of better governance will be one early challenge, and one of directinterest to Mr Rajapaksa himself, as he braces for an array of corruption investigations.Opponents claim the Rajapaksa’s family-dominated regime siphoned away huge sums duringits decade in power, including from the many Chinese-backed infrastructure schemes thatsymbolised Sri Lanka’s post-war economic boom.

兌現改善治理的承諾，將是這一時代面臨的早期挑戰之一，也關系到拉賈帕克薩的切身利益。拉賈帕克薩即將接受一系列反腐調查。反對者稱，在拉賈帕克薩掌權的十年期間，由他家族把持的政權黑掉了不少錢，包括從中國投資的基建計劃中黑走的錢。這些計劃曾是斯里蘭卡戰后經濟繁榮的象征。

Instead, Mr Wickremesinghe talks of a market-friendly economic policy, placing less emphasison financial ties with China, and more on tempting global companies to use the south Asianisland as a base for export-led manufacturing. He is likely to keep rebalancing Sri Lanka’sinternational relations too, patching up ties with India and the west after a decade in which MrRajapaksa cosied up to Beijing.

而維克勒馬辛哈談論的是親市場的經濟政策，對斯中金融合作強調得要少一些，更側重于吸引全球企業將這個南亞島國用作出口導向型制造業的基地。他可能還會繼續努力再平衡斯里蘭卡的國際關系，在拉賈帕克薩奉行親中國政策十年之后，修補斯里蘭卡與印度及西方的關系。

As former president Mahinda Rajapaksa comes toterms with his second electoral defeat in eightmonths, many in Sri Lanka are also predicting whatonce seemed unthinkable: the final political demise of a leader who, until just a year ago,seemed to hold an iron grip on their country.

斯里蘭卡前總統馬欣達拉賈帕克薩(Mahinda Rajapaksa)不得不接受8個月內第二次在選舉中落敗的事實。與此同時，在許多斯里蘭卡人的預期中，出現了一度似乎不可想象的一幕：一位在短短一年前似乎還嚴密掌控著國家權柄的領導人，就要走上政治末路。

Mr Rajapaksa hoped Tuesday’s result would herald an unlikely comeback — allowing him toseize the office of prime minister while simultaneously avenging his downfall at the hands offormer party ally Maithripala Sirisena in presidential elections in January.

拉賈帕克薩曾希望，周二公布的選舉結果能讓他可能性不大的東山再起夢想成真，讓他能在奪取總理寶座的同時，報今年1月在總統選舉中被前黨內盟友邁特里帕拉纏里塞納(Maithripala Sirisena)趕下臺的一箭之仇。

Instead, his Sri Lanka Freedom party trailed in second behind the centre-right United Nationalparty. The result leaves the UNP's Ranil Wickremesinghe set to return as prime minister, havingclaimed victory on Tuesday, and form a new coalition government in the island’s 225-memberparliament. Analysts say Mr Rajapaksa’s departure — after a 10-year rule — could herald a newera, one in which Sri Lanka faces up to brutality of its past and distances itself from its oncecosy relationship with Beijing.

然而事與愿違，他領導的斯里蘭卡自由黨(Freedom party)在此次選舉中落在中右翼統一國民黨(UnitedNational party)之后，屈居第二。這一結果令統一國民黨的拉尼爾維克勒馬辛哈(Ranil Wickremesinghe)得以回歸總理寶座，并在斯里蘭卡225人組成的議會中構建新的聯合政府。維克勒馬辛哈已在周二宣布勝選。分析人士表示，拉賈帕克薩在統治斯里蘭卡十年后離開政治舞臺，或預示著斯里蘭卡邁入新時代。在這個新時代里，斯里蘭卡將直面過去的殘暴行徑，并淡化與中國一度十分親密的關系。

As in January's contest, Mr Rajapaksa’s appeals to the Sinhalese-speaking Buddhist majorityfailed to rack up enough votes to overcome more liberal-minded urban voters, alongsidethose backing Tamil parties, which won overwhelmingly in the island’s north.

和今年1月的選舉一樣，拉賈帕克薩對占人口多數的講僧伽羅語的佛教徒的拉攏，未能為他帶來足夠的選票，以擊敗思想傾向自由主義的城市選民以及那些支持泰米爾黨派的選民。在斯里蘭卡北部，泰米爾黨派取得了壓倒性勝利。

At a deeper level, however, analysts said the result represented a rejection of the muscularnationalism embodied by Mr Rajapaksa's rule, borne of his role as victor in the island's civil war,which ended in a crushing defeat for the Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009.

不過，分析人士表示，這一選舉結果從更深層次來說，意味著對拉賈帕克薩統治所體現的強硬民族主義的拒絕。拉賈帕克薩是以斯里蘭卡內戰勝利者身份確立這種統治的。2009年，這場內戰以泰米爾猛虎組織(TamilTiger)叛軍的全面失敗告終。

“The hope must now be that a double defeat means Sri Lanka can move on, and begin tosolve some of the issues of post-war reconciliation and devolution of power that have beenso difficult, says Alan Keenan of the International Crisis Group.

國際危機組織(International Crisis Group)的艾倫蘒塊(Alan Keenan)表示：“目前的全部希望在于，(拉賈帕克薩的)二次落敗意味著斯里蘭卡能夠走出過去的陰影，著手解決部分戰后和解與權力下放問題。這些問題一直難以得到解決。

Making good on promises of better governance will be one early challenge, and one of directinterest to Mr Rajapaksa himself, as he braces for an array of corruption investigations.Opponents claim the Rajapaksa’s family-dominated regime siphoned away huge sums duringits decade in power, including from the many Chinese-backed infrastructure schemes thatsymbolised Sri Lanka’s post-war economic boom.

兌現改善治理的承諾，將是這一時代面臨的早期挑戰之一，也關系到拉賈帕克薩的切身利益。拉賈帕克薩即將接受一系列反腐調查。反對者稱，在拉賈帕克薩掌權的十年期間，由他家族把持的政權黑掉了不少錢，包括從中國投資的基建計劃中黑走的錢。這些計劃曾是斯里蘭卡戰后經濟繁榮的象征。

Instead, Mr Wickremesinghe talks of a market-friendly economic policy, placing less emphasison financial ties with China, and more on tempting global companies to use the south Asianisland as a base for export-led manufacturing. He is likely to keep rebalancing Sri Lanka’sinternational relations too, patching up ties with India and the west after a decade in which MrRajapaksa cosied up to Beijing.

而維克勒馬辛哈談論的是親市場的經濟政策，對斯中金融合作強調得要少一些，更側重于吸引全球企業將這個南亞島國用作出口導向型制造業的基地。他可能還會繼續努力再平衡斯里蘭卡的國際關系，在拉賈帕克薩奉行親中國政策十年之后，修補斯里蘭卡與印度及西方的關系。