Sri Lankans began voting on November 16 in a tightly fought presidential election where former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa's family is seeking a return to power after five years.
Polling booths opened across the island at 7 am and voting would continue for 10 hours under tight security provided by 85,000 police, an election commission official said.
Nearly 16 million voters will have a say in Sri Lanka’s biggest election , that is being closely fought by presidential hopefuls Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Sajith Premadasa, though a total of 35 candidates are in the race.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, candidate of the opposition Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP or People’s Party), was a powerful war-time defence secretary, who has now made an entry into politics. The younger brother of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Mr. Gotabaya, 70, is pitching himself as a “strong leader”, promising a safe country in the wake of prevalent anxiety over national security since the terror attacks. He has promised technocratic fixes to the economy that, he has said, will be knowledge-based under his possible leadership.
On the other hand, Sajith Premadasa, 52, of the ruling United National Party (UNP) was named candidate after an insurgent campaign within. Drawing huge support from grassroot organisers, he has since been trying to rejuvenate the party’s diminishing rural vote base, much like his late father President Ranasinghe Premadasa, who was known for his rural connect. His campaign has been broadly on a plank of welfare, including shelter for all and universal education and health.
(With inputs from Meera Srinivasan)
