City
Epaper

SL prez polls: Final results may be out by Nov 17

By IANS | Updated: November 1, 2019 12:20 IST

The Election Commission (EC) of Sri Lanka might announce the winner of the November 16 presidential election the following day but if the top two candidates fail to secure 50 per cent votes for an absolute majority, then the results would be delayed, a top official said here.

Open in App

EC Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya added that if the Commission was led to count preferential votes to decide the winner, the results could be announced by November 17 night, the Daily Mirror reported.

Explaining the tedious and complex election process to the media on Thursday, Deshapriya said that due to the long list of presidential candidates in the fray, the EC had to use three varieties of reinforced cardboard boxes for small, middle-sized and extra-large polling stations.

He said that the EC has put in place a watertight, anti-malpractice and fool-proof mechanism to prevent so-called "computer gilmart" or election malpractices like stuffing of ballot boxes and impersonation etc.

"At each and every stage, there will be double checking of ballots at the polling centre, constituency, district, provincial and national levels from villages, electorates, districts, provinces and in the Colombo main operation centre before releasing the official results to the nation through print and electronic media," Deshapriya stressed.

In response to an invitation by the EC, the European Union (EU) has deployed a mission to observe the election.

A record 35 candidates have filed their nominations for the island nation's eighth presidential election, with incumbent President Maithripala Sirisena's term coming to an end in January 2020.

Of the 35 hopefuls, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna's (SLPP) candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa; and the ruling United National Party's (UNP) Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa, who is contesting as the National Democratic Front (NDF) contender, have emerged as the two favourites.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who served as the Defence Minister in his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa's administration, oversaw the end of Sri Lanka's brutal 25-year civil war in 2009.

Sajith is the son of late President Ranasinghe Premadasa, who ruled the country with an iron fist before he was assassinated by a Tamil suicide bomber on May 1, 1993.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: ecMahinda RajapaksaNational Democratic FrontSri Lanka
Open in App

Related Stories

InternationalSri Lanka Declares Emergency As Cyclone Ditwah Kills 123, 130 Remain Missing

InternationalCyclone Ditwah Kills 56 in Sri Lanka; PM Modi Expresses Condolences, India Dispatches Relief Aid

InternationalCyclone Ditwah Hits Sri Lanka: 56 Killed, Several Missing as Storm Triggers Landslides and Flooding; Alert in Tamil Nadu

CricketPakistan Beat Zimbabwe by 5 Wickets in T20I Tri-Series Opener in Rawalpindi

CricketBabar Azam Falls for Duck in Pakistan vs Zimbabwe T20I Tri-Series 2025 Match in Rawalpindi

International Realted Stories

InternationalBaloch groups in UK slam Pakistan, raise issue of enforced disappearances

InternationalFormer Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia laid to rest at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar

InternationalAnother advisor in Bangladesh resigns amid political turmoil

InternationalGerman Chancellor Merz urges Europe to assert interests amid 'epochal shift'

InternationalXi says China ready to work with all countries to advance world peace, development