COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lankas President suffered a major defection on Sunday when the matriarch of his party pledged support for the main Opposition candidate ahead of Tuesdays fiercely contested election. Former president Chandrika Kumaratunga met the common Opposition candidate Gen Sarath Fonseka and endorsed his bid to oust incumbent Mahinda Rajapakse. I took the decision to end four years of silence, as I am deeply concerned about the violence, intimidation and corruption, Kumaratunga told reporters and urged her supporters to vote for Fonseka. Kumaratunga is a key symbol of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the main constituent in the ruling coalition. The socialist SLFP was founded by her late prime minister father, who was succeeded by his widow, who also went on to become the worlds first elected woman premier in 1960. Kumaratunga took over the party in 1993.