Former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has returned to the country after a surgery in Singapore, informed political sources said.

Rajapaksa was recuperating in Singapore for several weeks after the surgery.

Rajapaksa is the front-runner for the Presidential candidacy of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). He made a statement confirming that he has applied to renounce his US citizenship in order to make himself eligible to run for the presidency.

Rajpakasa, however, faces a surfeit of court cases and investigations in Sri Lanka over abuse of power and misappropriation of state funds under the previous administration.