AMN
The polling for parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka has concluded with voter turnout of around 71 percent reported countrywide. The voting is around 10 percent less compared to the previous election as strict health guidelines were in place in wake of COVID pandemic. No major incident was reported and the polling remained largely peaceful.
Extensive arrangements were in place in wake of COVID outbreak and people queued up wearing facemask while use of hand sanitizers was mandatory at the polling booths. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, former PM Ranil Wickremsinghe and former President Maithripala Sirisena are among the main contestants seeking to enter the parliament.
The voting began at 7 AM in the morning and an extra hour of polling was kept in view of COVID situation and social distancing to be kept during voting process. The counting of votes will be held tomorrow and initial results are expected by late evening.
Over 7450 candidates are in fray for parliament seats while around 1.62 crore voters were eligible to exercise their franchise at around 13 thousand polling booths. The elections were postponed twice after the COVID outbreak as parliament was dissolved in early March, six months before its term ended as President Gotabaya Rajapksa was seeking clear majority in parliament for his party.