Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse is to be sworn in as president after a close-fought election campaign in which he pledged to take a tough line against Tamil Tiger rebels. Rajapakse, a socialist who celebrated his 60th birthday on Friday, received 4.88 million votes, beating market-friendly Ranil Wickremesinghe who polled 4.69 million votes. "The prime minister, under the election act... is duly elected as president of Sri Lanka," said elections commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake. With Rajapakse securing 50.3% of the vote, analaysts say the results dimmed hopes for peace process ending Sri Lanka's bloody civil war. He is due to be sworn in at a ceremony on Saturday, taking over from incumbent President Chandrika Kumaratunga, after which he is expected to name a prime minister and a new cabinet. News that the left-leaning Rajapakse had narrowly won saw the benchmark All Share Price index plunge 176 points, or 7% - the worst opening fall in two years. It lost another three points during the day's trading to close at 2325.