Over 17 million Sri Lankans will have the chance to vote for the country’s next president today (September 21) in a crucial presidential election, the first major poll to be held after Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis in 2022.

A record-breaking 38 candidates are contesting this year’s election, the highest number of presidential candidates in the country’s history.

A total of 17,140,354 Sri Lankans are eligible to vote, with the Gampaha District registering the highest number of voters with 1,881,129. 

Colombo District is second with 1,765,351 registered voters, and Kurunegala District has 1,417,226 voters. The Northern Province has a combined total of 899,268 registered voters.

Voting will take place at 13,421 polling stations across the island from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. today (20). 

Eligible voters are required to carry one of nine accepted forms of identification to cast their vote:

1. National Identity Card (NIC)

2. Valid Passport

3. Valid Driving License

4. Public Service Retirement ID

5. Elders Identity Card

6. ID Cards provided to clergy 

7. Confirmation letter of NIC information

8. Temporary ID card issued by the Election Commission for disabled persons

9. Temporary ID card issued by the Election Commission for others

The Commissioner General of Elections, Saman Sri Ratnayake explaining how the vote should be marked said: “If someone wants to use their vote, they can use the ‘X’ mark to cast their votes. Similar to previous elections, the ‘X’ mark will be accepted by the Election commission. In addition, the Arabic numeral ‘1’ is also valid for marking the vote”, he added.

Saman Sri Rathnayake further stated that for those wishing to indicate preferences, they can mark their first choice with the Arabic numeral ‘1’ and their second choice with the Arabic numeral ‘2’. To express all three preferences, voters must use Arabic numerals ‘1’, ‘2’, and ‘3’ and any other markings will be considered invalid, he said.

He further emphasized that mobile phones are prohibited inside polling stations.

The process of transporting ballot boxes from the counting centers to polling stations had commenced last morning under tight security. Similar operations were observed across all 22 electoral districts, with activities proceeding rapidly in preparation for tomorrow’s election.

Domestic and international observers will be present to monitor the voting process. A total of 63,000 police officers have been deployed to ensure security throughout the election.

Additionally, the Election Commission has announced guidelines regarding leave for public and private sector employees to allow them to vote. The guidelines are as follows:

• Half-day leave if the polling station is within 40 km of the workplace.

• One day’s leave if the distance is between 40 and 100 km.

• One and a half days’ leave for distances between 100 and 150 km.

• Two days’ leave for distances exceeding 150 km.

Large numbers of voters were seen gathering at Colombo Central Bus Station, Private Bus Station, Fort Railway Station, and Makumbura Multimodal Transport Center since yesterday, preparing to travel to their respective hometowns to cast their votes.

A large number of international election observers including from the European Union (EU) and Commonwealth observers, working across various teams, have also reported to their posts across all nine provinces in Sri Lanka, ahead of the country’s presidential election.

13,421 polling centres have been set up across the country for over 17 million registered voters and they will choose among 38 presidential candidates, the largest ever such pool in the history of the country.

Of the registered voters, more than 700 thousand qualify for advance voting – referred to as postal voting, the purpose of which is to allow eligible voters who cannot vote in person on election day to cast their ballots.

The President of Sri Lanka is elected using a preferential voting system, whereby voters can rank up to three candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives more than 50 per cent of the total valid votes in the first count, all candidates except the top two are eliminated, and the candidate with the most overall votes in the second round of counting is then declared the winner.

If no candidate gets 50 percent plus one vote in the polls, the Election Commission will invoke the legal provision for a run-off between the two front-runners.

The winning candidate is likely to take oath by Sunday evening or Monday and later form the cabinet of ministers.

The election also coincides with International Peace Day, emphasising the importance of peaceful voting.

The election assumes enormous significance since this is the first time that Sri Lankans will head to polling stations after the ‘Araghalya’ protest movement in 2022 following the economic crisis that saw inflation soaring and the country’s foreign exchange dwindling to a record low. 

Then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned following a popular uprising against them leading to incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe getting elected as the president.

Sri Lanka’s unprecedented crisis manifested in acute shortages of essentials and long lines for fuel and gas. Inflation soared to 70%, the rupee depreciated 45% and the economy shrank by 7.3%, forcing the government to seek a International Monetary Fund bailout.

Aided by a bailout package from the IMF and Indian assistance have brought down the inflation and prices of essential commodities, but economic issues continue to dominate the minds of the voters.

Although inflation cooled to 0.5% last month and GDP is forecast to grow 3% in 2024, for the first time in three years, the change is slow and yet to trickle down.

However, Sri Lanka’s voters will get to opportunity to choose among a record 38 candidates in fray though the contest is likely to narrow down between incumbent President and independent candidate Ranil Wickremasinghe, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), and National People Power’s (NPP) Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

This three-way contest is unprecedented in Sri Lankan presidential elections, marking a historic moment with all candidates previously experiencing setbacks in the parliamentary polls.

A good voter turnout is expected, in line with Sri Lanka’s record of high voter participation in every national election. The last presidential poll in 2019 saw a voter turnout of 83.72 per cent.

Widely considered a watershed election for the citizens of the island, it will not only elect the ninth Executive President but also a leader who they think will continue to steer the country out of its unprecedented economic crisis.