Rajapakse's United Peoples' Freedom Alliance won control of 225 of 266 councils, while the Marxist JVP -- who back him in parliament but are opposed to concessions to the rebels and ran independently -- boosted their share of the vote but won less than expected.

"Sri Lankan voters have shown they do not support hardline or extremist parties," said Jayadeva Uyangoda, head of political studies at Colombo University. "This is good news for President Rajapakse."

The JVP won 65 percent more local government seats than it took in at the last vote in 2002. But against some expectations, they only retained their sole council and were placed a distant third behind the main opposition United National Party (UNP).