Sri Lanka presidential election expects 75% turnout: officials – Sri Lanka presidential election expects 75% turnout, officials say

Sri Lanka’s presidential election on Saturday is expected to receive nearly 75% of the votes. This information was provided by Director General of Elections Saman Ratnayaka. Sri Lanka’s presidential election on Saturday is expected to receive about 75% of the votes, according to an official.

Director General of Elections Sharman Sriratnayaka announced that voter turnout for the presidential election is expected to be 75%, lower than 83% in the last presidential election held in November 2019.

Voting was held from 7 am to 4 pm local time at more than 13,400 polling stations in 22 regions. More than 17 million registered voters are expected to cast their votes in the election, with 38 candidates being the largest candidates in the race.

Earlier in the day, there were no reports of violence or security violations in all 22 constituencies during the crucial presidential election, the first to be held in the island nation following its worst economic crisis in 2022.

Election officials said anyone who entered a polling station before 4 p.m. will be able to vote after the deadline.

Officials said the counting of postal ballots began immediately after polls closed at 4 p.m. Government employees, army and police personnel voted through postal ballots four days ago.

Counting begins

Colombo Metropolitan Election Deputy Commissioner MK Kandalampa said: “After the postal ballots are counted at 6pm, we want to start the normal counting. About 8,000 observers from home and abroad attended the election. They included 116 international observers from the European Union, the Commonwealth, the Asian Election Network and seven South Asian countries.

The People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) has deployed 4,000 local observers. These elections will be a test for incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who claims to be leading the country on the path to economic recovery.

These three leaders are the main contenders for the presidency

In a triangular election contest, Ranil Wickremesinghe faces challenges from 56-year-old Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the National People’s Power Party (NPP) and 57-year-old Sajith Premadasa of the main opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB). It is worth noting that the Sri Lankan economy had completely collapsed in 2022. Inflation was so severe that people revolted against the then government. As a result, the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had to flee the country.