COLOMBO, Pakistan: The polling is underway in Sri Lanka on Thursday in one of the closest and tightest presidential contests in the country’s electoral history.
There are 19 candidates who are contesting the country’s 7th presidential election; however, the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the former health minister Maithripala Sirisena are hopeful of their victory.
The authorities have set up over 12,000 polling stations across the country to help about 15 million eligible voters cast their ballots.
Likewise, over 70,000 police officers have been deployed across the country to ensure that no untoward incident takes place on polling day.
It is expected that the election results will emerge early Friday.
The 69-year-old Rajapaksa is the United People’s Freedom Alliance’s (UPFA) candidate and is seeking a third term in office while the 63-year-old Maithripala Sirisena, the former health minister in Rajapaksa’s government, is the candidate of the United National Party (UNP)-led opposition coalition.
Rajapaksa said while casting his ballot in his constituency on Thursday that he is confident he will be given the leadership of the country for the third time.
“We will have a resounding victory. That is very clear. From tomorrow, we will start implementing our manifesto,” he told reporters according to a foreign news agency.
