(CNN)[Breaking news update, posted at 10.45 p.m. ET] Sri Lanka's Mahinda Rajapaksa concedes defeat to opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena in the country's presidential election, prime minister-designate Ranil Wickremesinghe tells CNN. [Previous story, posted at 8.17 p.m. ET] (CNN) -- In November, when Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa called an election two years earlier than necessary, the path ahead looked clear for an unprecedented third term in office. But as the nation of 15 million eligible voters waits for the results of yesterday's polls, the 69-year-old's electoral ambitions may be in jeopardy. After enabling an extension of his presidency by doing away with a two-term limit, Rajapaksa's campaign was spectacularly wrong-footed by the surprise defection of dozens of political allies -- including the man who now threatens to unseat him.
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Sri Lanka's Mahinda Rajapaksa concedes defeat in presidential elections
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His former ally, Maithripala Sirisena, will replace him as the country's leader
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Popular for ending the civil war, Rajapaksa increasingly seen as authoritarian and nepotistic
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