Central News & Network–ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: Voting for the most significant presidential elections in Sri Lanka concluded at 4 pm on Saturday. Out of the 17 million eligible voters, close to 75 per cent of the people cast their vote to elect their new president. The final results are expected on Sunday.
Sri Lanka went to vote on Saturday for the first time since the 2022 people uprising. This election assumes significance as the country has still not come out of the economic crisis despite the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout. Economic crisis stands out as the major issue thus displacing the ethnic issues and the Sinhala majoritarian identities which had played a huge role during the past elections. The campaign this time had the domination of the policies proposed by the candidates more than the personalities and the party ideologies.
In the past, the presidential polls had had two main contenders and the contest had largely been bipolar. But this time, it was a three-cornered contest with president Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is contesting as an independent, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and Leftist Leninist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake in the fray, along with 35 other candidates.