At least 70 percent voter turnout expected at polls: PM

With initial indications of high voter turnout during the recent postal voting period, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said that even with the COVID-19 situation, at least 70 percent voter turnout can be expected at the General Elections on August 5.

The Prime Minister made these comments during a discussion with the German Ambassador in Sri Lanka Joern Rohde when he made a farewell call at Temple Trees this morning, PM office said. Ambassador Rohde is completing a four year tenure as the Ambassador for Sri Lanka and Maldives.

Discussing the bolaternal ties, Ambaddor said Germany's policy towards Sri Lanka hasn't changed and it will always be supportive. Diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Germany go back 66 years. A key priority for Sri Lanka now is to attract investors, especially after the grave impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the country.

Ambassador also informed Prime Minister Rajapaksa that similar to the Sri Lanka- German Training Institute that was established in Kilinochchi in 2016, another two will be set up in Matara and Ratmalana.

Ambassador Rohde also said that he plans to keep visiting Sri Lanka and that he hopes tourism will return to normalcy soon, noting that European countries are also experiencing similar problems in the tourism sector due to the COVID 19 outbreak. Germany has been one of Sri Lanka's most reliable markets for tourism. A total of 1, 495, 055 tourists had visited Sri Lanka by October 31, 2019. Germany is the source of the second highest in tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka from Europe.