The 70-year-old politician served as the defence secretary during his elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa's tenure as president from 2005 to 2014
At stake is the stability of a nation that has increasing strategic importance due in part to its proximity to some of the world's most important sea lines
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said recently that the Presidential Elections is likely to be held in November or December
If the Rajapaksa regime looks as if it is going to return in Sri Lanka, many in the country's armed forces will begin to feel extremely uneasy