Presidential election: Sri Lanka to count 2nd preference votes for the first time

Colombo: Sri Lanka's Election Commission Chairman, R.L.A.M. Ratnayake announced on Sunday that a second preference vote count will take place after no candidate received enough votes in the presidential election. This is the first time in Sri Lankan history that second-preference votes will be counted to determine the President.

According to the Presidential Elections Act of 1981, a candidate must secure at least 50 percent of the votes to win. Since no candidate reached this mark, the votes for the top two candidates - Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Sajith Premadasa - will be counted next.

During a press conference, the Election Commission confirmed that Dissanayake and Premadasa were the only candidates still in the race, while all others have been eliminated. The ballots from these eliminated candidates will now be examined to see if voters chose secondary or third preferences for the leading candidates.

Early results indicate that Anura Kumara Dissanayake, 55, leader of the National People's Power (NPP), could become the country's first leftist president. In response to the election results, the government has declared Monday, September 23, 2024, a special public holiday, as announced by Pradeep Yasarathne, Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs.

This election, the first since Sri Lanka's severe economic crisis, featured 39 candidates. Key contenders included incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa from the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party, and Dissanayake from the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party.

Out of a population of about 22 million, 17,140,350 Sri Lankans were eligible to vote, including 1.2 million new voters. Polling took place on Saturday from 7 am to 4 pm at 3,421 polling centres across the country.

Agency