Colombojust a few moments ago
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Voting is going on for the presidential election in Sri Lanka. Voting started at 7 am and will continue till 4 pm. Counting will start 3 and a half hours after the voting ends. The results may come on Sunday.
For the first time since the economic crisis in 2022, elections are being held on such a large scale in Sri Lanka. About 1 crore 70 lakh voters are voting. According to the Sri Lankan website Daily Mirror, 38 candidates are in the fray for the post of President, but the contest is between 4 candidates.
According to BBC, the result of Sri Lanka’s presidential election is decided on the basis of the ranking of the top-3 candidates. If any of the top 3 gets an absolute majority, he is declared the winner. If this does not happen, a second round of voting takes place between the 3 candidates. The second round of voting has not taken place in Sri Lanka yet.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe after voting in Colombo. He expressed hope of victory.
Presidential candidate Sajitha Premadasa arrived to cast his vote along with his wife.
Two former president’s sons in the presidential race According to reports, there may be a second round of voting this time as many big candidates are in the fray this time. Incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe is being challenged by National People’s Power (NPP) alliance leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake (55 years), Sajith Premadasa (57 years) of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and Namal Rajapaksa (38 years) of Sri Lanka Podu Peramuna Party (SLPP).
Sajith Premadasa is the son of former President Ranasinghe Premadasa. Ranasinghe was assassinated in 1993. Namal Rajapaksa is the son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Mahinda Rajapaksa was the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015.
Anura Dissanayake is leading the race According to the survey, Anura Dissanayake has the highest chances of winning the election this time. Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa is at number two in the survey. Current President Ranil Wickremesinghe is trailing behind him at number three. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son Namal Rajapaksa is also in this race. The survey has also stated that his chances of winning are low.
In the year 2022, Sri Lanka’s economy collapsed badly. Inflation increased so much that people revolted against the then government. Due to this, the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had to flee the country. The memories related to this are still in the minds of the people. This is the reason why the country’s biggest family ‘Rajapaksa’ for the last two decades seems to be out of the race.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s popularity has increased significantly due to the historic mass movement following the severe recession in Sri Lanka.
Anura was known for opposing India, now he has increased his friendship Anura Kumara Dissanayake is the leader of the leftist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). He is the presidential candidate from the NPP alliance. According to the South China Morning Post, the JVP party is known for its anti-India stance. In the 1980s, India had decided to send a Peace Keeping Force to Sri Lanka to deal with the LTTE. The JVP had opposed it then.
In recent years, the JVP has changed its anti-India stance. However, Anura has started a new controversy by making statements against the Indian company Adani before the elections. The JVP leader has recently promised to cancel the Adani Group’s wind power project in Sri Lanka if he wins the presidential election to be held on September 21.
Anura says that the Adani project is a threat to Sri Lanka’s energy sovereignty. Adani Group has signed a deal with the Sri Lankan government this year to develop a wind power station. For this, the company is going to invest $ 442 million (about Rs 367 crore).