Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has conceded defeat in the country's presidential elections and left his official residence. The counting results show opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena is leading. With final result yet to be declared, Sirisena is expected to be declared winner by around 4 lakh votes. A statement from Rajapaksa's office said that the President had talks with the main opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and conveyed his wish to let the new President take over without any hindrance. Sri Lankans yesterday voted in large numbers in the bitterly contested presidential election in the biggest political shake-up in over a decade. The election officials had estimated more than 65-70 per cent voting in most places. There were 19 candidates in the fray. But the main fight was between two-term president 69-year-old Rajapaksa and his 63-year-old former cabinet colleague Sirisena. Rajapaksa had called the election two years ahead of schedule, hoping to win a record third six-year term before the defeat of the Tamil Tigers fades in the memory of the people of the island which saw a three decades war over the demand of a separate Tamil Eelam.