Nearly 75% voter turnout in crucial Sri Lankan presidential polls

COUNTING UNDERWAY AMID OVERNIGHT CURFEW

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Sri Lankans on Saturday voted to elect a new president in the first elections since the economic meltdown in 2022. An overnight curfew was declared island-wide hours after polling ended and counting started immediately.

Polling from 7 am to 4 pm went off peacefully with no violence or any security breach reported from anywhere across the 22 electoral districts.

“The voter turnout in Saturday’s presidential election is expected to be 75 per cent,” Director General Elections Saman Sri Ratnayaka declared.

This would be lower than the 83 per cent polled in the previous presidential election held in November 2019.

Hours after counting of votes began soon after polling ended at 4 pm, the entire country was put under curfew from 10 pm till 6 am on Sunday to “prevent any untoward incidents post-election,” the police said.

The polls were held from 7 am to 4 pm local time at over 13,400 polling stations at 22 electoral districts in the election which had the highest number of candidates, 38, but no female aspirant for the top post.

The elections are crucial for incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is seeking re-election as an independent claiming credit for putting the country on the road to economic recovery.

Observers said voting in the northern district of Jaffna was on a slow trickle by midday. A Tamil minority hardline group had discouraged people from voting in the run up to the election.