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With the Election Commission winning the public trust and acclaim for holding what many observers described as the most peaceful presidential election, counting began amid tight security and a precautionary curfew in all counting centres to declare the winner. Security forces are seen standing guard at the D.S. Senanayake College counting centre last night while [...]
Surge in voting seen after noon; turnout 77 percent; lower than 2019
Peaceful election throughout country; EC says complaints resolved promptly By Sandun Jayawardana A late surge in voter turnout was witnessed across the country as polls closed at 4 p.m. yesterday for the 2024 presidential election with a turnout of 77 percent, lower than the 83 percent at the last presidential election in 2019. Overall voter [...]
Global gamblers bet US$ 48,000 on Lanka poll
Sri Lanka’s presidential election garnered more than $48,000 in wagers on the global prediction platform Polymarket. The website allows people around the world to use cryptocurrency to bet on the outcome of events from elections to wars to sports events. Polymarket’s Sri Lankan election market shifted quite frequently throughout election day but overall strongly favoured [...]
Social media giants ignore EC request on illegal content
By Ishu Bandara Social media platforms have turned down a request by the Election Commission to remove certain content that was seen as violating election regulations. Meta, YouTube, TikTok, and Google had refused to remove 201 posts that violated election laws, despite requests from the EC. About 937 questionable posts were still awaiting follow-up action [...]
Curfew last night; tight security for next two days; Monday a public holiday
By Damith Wickremasekera The Government last night declared an all-island precautionary curfew as it put in place special security arrangements for the next 48 hours to ensure that there will be no breach of the peace in the post-election period, Public Security Ministry Secretary Viyani Gunathilaka said yesterday. The Government has also declared Monday a [...]
Polls watchers commend EC, police and people for peaceful election
By Ishu Bandara The conduct of yesterday’s presidential election was peaceful and without any major incidents of violence or disturbances local and foreign election monitoring groups said yesterday. They commended both the Election Commission as well as security personnel for facilitating the successful conclusion of the election. People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) [...]
Call for new systems to enable everyone to vote
By Kasun Warakapitiya and Kevin Alwis While voting is a fundamental right enjoyed by Sri Lankans, there are some who did not vote yesterday due to voter apathy, personal or official obligations, lack of identification documentation, or failure to register as a voter. On average, around 20 to 25 percent of voters fail to cast [...]
Election official in drunk driving crash: Female election official and father injured
By Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe An election officer and her father were injured in a collision involving their motorcycle and a car driven by a senior official attached to a counting centre in the Puttalam district. The accident occurred when the female official identified as Sureni Madusika and her father, A.H.M. Dayaratne, were on their way [...]
Journalist Berenger’s funeral today
Former Sunday Times senior journalist Leon Patrick Berenger passed away on Tuesday. He was 63. Mr. Berenger, who started his journalistic career at the now-defunct Sun newspaper, made his mark in crime reporting. He went on to work at several leading newspapers including Ceylon Today and was the Chief sub-editor at the Sunday Observer at [...]
This is the way they cast their votes
COLOMBO DISTRICT Peaceful poll, three frontrunners cast their ballots, slight drop in turnout Voters in the Colombo District turned up in their millions yesterday to cast their votes to choose a new president. Voting was brisk from the time polling centres opened at 7 a.m. and voting continued at a steady pace in most areas [...]
First-time voters brimming with hope and enthusiasm
By Kevin Alwis As the presidential election unfolded one of the most enthusiastic groups were the first-time voters. Election Commission Chairman R. M. A. L. Ratnayake said 76,000 voters who were over 18 years old were able to register for this year’s election. Jason Steve is a young university student who voted for the [...]
Phone ban at polling stations adhered to in the breach
By Tharushi Weerasinghe Voters were left inconvenienced and confused when the prohibition of phones at polling centres was not strictly followed or enforced by officials yesterday. Despite stern warnings by both the Election Commission and Sri Lanka Police, voters from many areas claimed the rule was openly flouted while strictly implemented in some centres. “I [...]
More needs to be done for differently abled voters
By Dilushi Wijesinghe Although the 2024 presidential election was billed as being inclusive for differently abled voters, international election observers have pointed out shortcomings in facilities. Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) Executive Director Brizza Rosales told the Sunday Times that they witnessed elderly voters and persons with disabilities (PWDs) encountering physical barriers at some [...]
Polls in pictures
Pix by Nilan Maligaspe Priyanka Samaraweera Eshan Fernando Gayan Amarasekara Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe
Many shops and eateries in Colombo closed on polls day, others run with skeletal staff
By Kasun Warakapaitiya A majority of eateries and shops around Colombo city areas were closed on Saturday as most of the employees had taken a day off or were working half day in order to cast their votes. Some had made special arrangements to keep their eateries and shops open. An employee at a bakery [...]
Silent period image build-up continues on social media, regardless of ban
By Kasun Warakapitiya and Ishu Bandara Social media is widely used by some candidates to pitch themselves to voters, despite restrictions during the 48-hour silent period, when television channels, radio, and newspapers did not carry any advertisements or promotions. Some have used Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube to promote themselves ahead of yesterday’s election. Social media [...]
Lower level of violent incidents, so far
By Kevin De Alwis There has been much less poll-related violence compared with the previous presidential elections, based on observations by monitoring organisations and the election regulator. The Election Commission in its latest report on Thursday, said that from July 31 to September 19, 34 violent incidents were recorded, while the People’s Action for Free [...]
Election day: Recalling all night family get-togethers and excitement as results came rolling in
By Tharushi Weerasinghe As divisive as politics and election times can be, many Sri Lankans have, over the years, turned election days into a tradition of family get-togethers and celebrations. “My entire family lives next to each other, so once everyone votes, we gather at my aunt’s house the same evening,” a 28-year-old retail worker [...]