News
Surge in voting seen after noon; turnout 77 percent; lower than 2019
View(s):- 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 turnout, which was lagging in several districts, picked up after noon, with a large number of voters turning up during the final two hours before polls closed.
Voter turnout in the Polonnaruwa District, for example, was at 44 percent as of noon. This jumped to 65 percent by 2 p.m. and then to 78 percent when polls closed at 4 p.m. In the Kandy District, voter turnout, which was at 65 percent at 2 p.m., went up to 80 percent by the time voting ended two hours later.
In the Jaffna District, the turnout was 20 percent at 10 a.m. and rose to 46 percent by 2 p.m. This again swelled to 65 percent by 4 p.m. Authorities said the afternoon surge was due to religious reasons. According to Tamil calendar, the dawn of the Tamil month Purattathi was yesterday, and Hindus engaged in prayers to Lord Vishnu. This was seen as the reason why the turnout before noon was relatively low.
In the Nuwara Eliya District, voter turnout stood at about 45 percent at noon, climbed to 72 percent by 2 p.m., and finished at 80 percent at 4 p.m. The district’s authorities attributed the late surge to estate employees coming to vote in the afternoon after working in estates during the morning.
In Matara, Nuwara Eliya and some other areas, heavy rains briefly discouraged voters from turning out to vote early in the morning. However, voting picked up rapidly after the rains ceased.
Overall voter percentages from many districts, however, were lower than the turnout witnessed in these districts at the 2019 presidential poll. At the 2019 presidential election, the voter turnout was 83.72 percent.
Estimates last evening put the 2024 poll’s overall turnout at 77 percent.
More than 1.7 million voters were eligible to cast their ballots at yesterday’s election.
A peaceful atmosphere prevailed throughout the country during the voting period. Complaints reported to the Election Commission (EC) during the voting period were resolved promptly, EC Chairman R.M.A.L. Rathnayake told the Sunday Times yesterday.
He confirmed that after 12 p.m. yesterday, no instances of violence or election law violations that could affect the election process were reported. There were, however, two deaths that occurred at polling stations. At the Seevali polling centre in Ratnapura, a Samagi Jana Balawegaya polling agent died of a heart attack, while in Polonnaruwa, a policeman on duty also died of a heart attack.
A record 39 candidates were on the ballot at the election to elect the country’s ninth executive president. One of the candidates, Idroos Mohamed Illias, passed away on August 22, a few days after handing over nominations to contest the election. His name, though, appeared on the ballot paper, as they had already been printed by the time he passed away. The EC has said that votes cast in his name will be deemed invalid.
Of the main candidates at this year’s election, President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who contested as an independent candidate, cast his vote at the polling station at College House in the University of Colombo.
Speaking to reporters after casting his vote, President Wickremesinghe said it was time for the people to decide on their future. He noted that it would be impossible to hold an election if the situation that prevailed earlier during the economic crisis continued. Mr. Wickremesinghe also expressed satisfaction in the peaceful nature of the poll and extended his gratitude to the candidates and the EC for their participation and efforts.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa cast his vote at the Rajagiriya Kotuwegoda Viharaya polling station. He said it was the responsibility of everyone to continue the electoral process in a peaceful and democratic manner.
National People’s Power (NPP) candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake voted at the polling station at Abeysingharamaya in Panchikawatta. He expressed confidence that this election would change Sri Lanka’s history. He urged the people to remain peaceful even after victory was achieved.
The polling station at the Medamulana D.A. Rajapaksa Vidyalaya was where Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) presidential candidate Namal Rajapaksa cast his vote. Addressing reporters outside the booth, Mr. Rajapaksa said he was able to conduct a successful campaign due to the voluntary involvement of a large number of people. He said the SLPP had only stated in its manifesto what could actually be achieved and that the SLPP was not a party that was in the habit of running away.
Some 63,000 officers were deployed for security at polling stations island-wide, Police Spokesman and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Nihal Thalduwa told the Sunday Times. After ballot boxes were handed over to the counting centres, about 26,000 of these officers were to be released from their duties. The rest will be deployed for manning roadblocks, providing security at counting centres, and other security arrangements.
He added that Sri Lanka Army personnel have also been put on standby, ready to be deployed in case of an emergency. The responsibility of overall security at counting centres is mainly vested with the Special Task Force (STF), he added. The DIG said the same officers who had been on duty on election day would be on standby to be deployed for any emergency situation.
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