2015 Sri Lankan presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Sri Lanka on 8 January 2015. The elections took place two years ahead of schedule. Incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa was the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance's candidate, seeking a third term in office. The United National Party-led opposition coalition chose to field Maithripala Sirisena, former Minister of Health in Rajapaksa's government and general secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party – the main constituent party of the UPFA – as its common candidate.

Sirisena was declared the winner, receiving 51% of the vote compared to Rajapaksa's 48%. The result was generally seen as a major upset; when Rajapaksa called the election in November 2014 he had looked certain to win. On 11 January 2015, the new government announced a special investigation into allegations of an attempted coup by Rajapaksa.