State of Emergency declared ahead of vote to elect President

Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe has declared an Islandwide state of emergency in a bid to ensure that a vote to elect the new President could be conducted peacefully.
 
The declaration came as the Inter-University Student Federation backed by trade unions called for a Hartal campaign on Tuesday – the day fixed to receive nominations for the vote to elect a President.
 
Security around the Parliament area also has been tightened while instructions have gone out to monitor Facebook notifications used to intimidate members of Parliament ahead of the vote.

In a related move the Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has written to the Inspector General of Police C.D. Wickremaratne to take action against those thretening MPs not to vote at Wednesday's elections.

This was after posts came up on social media not to vote and that they would take care of those who vote agaisnt their wishes and return to the village.

However, rival groups too have been posting messages of taking revenge thsoe who are campaigning against the vote. 

Both types of messages were considered dangerous trend which could lead to violence, a Police source said. 
 
Some of the posts have already warned MPs that they would not be able to return to their villages if they vote against the wishes of the protesters.