The Sri Lankan government says retired general Sarath Fonseka may not have been a legal candidate in the presidential election and intends to take its case to court.

The government decision came after polling stations closed on Tuesday. Mr Fonseka's name was not on his local electoral register and he was not allowed to vote. The government now contends this meant he should not have been allowed to stand as a presidential candidate.

The poll was forecast to be a neck-and-neck race between the former general and sitting President Mahinda Rajapkse. Both men claim they played a leading role in last year's defeat of the Tamil Tigers. The rebel group was driven out of its stronghold last May after 25 years of civil war.

Tuesday's presidential election results have not yet been announced but turnout was around 60 percent. The poll passed off peacefully apart from bomb attacks in the Jaffna peninsula in northern Sri Lanka. There are no reports of any casualties.

photo: Mahinda Rajapakse (EPA)