Voting for the Presidential election commenced at 0700 hrs on Saturday at around 12,845 polling centres setup country wide.
The voting session would be closed at 1700 hrs. A total of 15.9 million eligible voters will exercise their franchise to choose their new head of the state among 35 candidates.
The election is likely to see a tough contest between former defence minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka People’s Front and Cabinet Minister Sajith Premadasa of the ruling United National party (UNP).
Sri Lanka’s presidential vote is conducted under a contingent vote system. Voters express their top three preferences for President. If no candidate is able to attain more than 50 per cent of the vote, the votes of those who listed them as their second preference will be added to the tallies of the top two candidates to pick a winner.
