Colombo, Dec 30 (IANS): Sri Lanka's main Tamil political party Tuesday extended its support to the opposition candidate in the presidential election in January.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said it had decided to back common opposition presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena in the Jan 8 polls.
Sirisena is taking on incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

TNA leader R. Sampanthan made the announcement at a press conference in the presence of other TNA members.

The TNA said that it had given careful consideration to the positions and pronouncements of the two main candidates in the presidential election and had also undertaken an extensive process of consultation to hear the views of the Tamil speaking people, particularly in the northeast.

"As the political leadership of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, we have a historical duty to guide our people and the wider citizenry in the choice they will be called on to make at the election," it said.