Sri Lankan presidential election braces for record number of contestants

President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Pic/AFP

With as many as 38 candidates paying deposits by the deadline of noon on Wednesday, the September 21 presidential election in Sri Lanka is likely to witness a record number of contestants in its 42-year history.

Of the 38 candidates, 20 are from registered political parties, 17 independents and one from another political group, Saman Sri Ratnayake, the director general of the independent election commission, said.

The deadline for accepting nominations is Thursday and if all 38 are to file in nominations, the tally of contestants would be the highest -- three more than the 35 contestants in the last election held in November 2019.

The nominations are accepted between 9 and 11 am tomorrow with an hour allowed for objections.

Besides incumbent President Wickremesinghe, the other prominent candidates are Namal Rajapaksa, the 38-year-old heir to the Rajapaksa dynasty, the main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and the Marxist JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

There were only six candidates in the first-ever presidential election held in October 1982.

The election commission also announced September 4, 5 and 6 for postal voting, generally reserved for those who would be engaged in election-related duties on the poll day.

The commission said there have been 42 complaints of election law violations by various groups since the date for the election was announced.

Over 17 million registered voters are eligible to vote from 22 electoral districts in the island nation.

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