Rajapaksa heads influential national leaders in TIME poll

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Rajapaksa heads influential national leaders in TIME poll

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been voted the most influential among political leaders worldwide by readers of TIME, in voting for inclusion in the TIME 100 list. The Sri Lankan President came sixth in the list among 203 personalities voted, which included leaders, artists, innovators, icons, and heroes who TIME readers considered the most influential persons. He topped the voting for the most influential among national leaders, receiving 68,464 votes from TIME readers worldwide. The most influential personality, according to TIME readers was Rain, the South Korean singing sensation who has huge popularity in South East Asia, and wins the honour of being included in the TIME 100 - 2011. Among political leaders who trailed far behind President Rajapaksa were: President Hu Jintao of China (6,845 votes), Myanmar's Aung Sang Suu Kyi (3,384), US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (4,420), President Barack Obama (5,547), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (1,496), India's Congress leader Sonia Gandhi (1,107), UK Prime Minister David Cameron (796) and US Vice President Joe Biden ((247). The official online voting by TIME readers for the TIME 2011 closed at midnight USA on April 14. However readers voting can continue to vote for their favourites until the list is revealed on Thursday, April 21. Courtesy: President's Media