Voting for the most significant presidential elections in Sri Lanka concluded at 4 pm on Saturday. Out of the 17 million eligible voters, close to 75 per cent of the people cast their vote to elect their new president. The final results are expected on Sunday.
Sri Lanka went to vote on Saturday for the first time since the 2022 people uprising. This election assumes significance as the country has still not come out of the economic crisis despite the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout. Economic crisis stands out as the major issue thus displacing the ethnic issues and the Sinhala majoritarian identities which had played a huge role during the past elections. The campaign this time had the domination of the policies proposed by the candidates more than the personalities and the party ideologies.
In the past, the presidential polls had had two main contenders and the contest had largely been bipolar. But this time, it was a three-cornered contest with president Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is contesting as an independent, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and Leftist Leninist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake in the fray, along with 35 other candidates.
The country’s political landscape has completely been altered after the people uprising that led to the ouster of the Rajapakasas. It also impacted the two main parties in Sri Lanka —the centre-left Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the centre- right United Nations Party (UNP). The SLFP split into the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) to be with the Rajapaksas and later broke further to support Ranil Wickremensinghe who was the leader of the UNP. The UNP split into Samagi Jana Balawaegaya (SJB) to be led by opposition leader Sajith Premadasa.
With the change in the political landscape, it remains to be seen how the rural masses who once stood with Mahinda Rajapaksa and voted on the Sinhala Majoritarianism ideology would vote this time. Though Namal Rajapaksa is contesting to capitalise on his father’s charisma, the SLPP cadres are disturbed as the leadership went to support Ranil and made him the president to run the government after the Aragalaya in 2022.
As the contest is three-way this time, there could be a second vote counting if no candidate secures 50 per cent plus one vote which is the clear majority mark. With the counting underway the results are expected anytime during the day on September 22. If no candidate secures the 50 per cent mark the second round counting will begin immediately and the results are likely to be announced a day later.
