Colombo, Sep 22 (IANS) Early results from Sri Lanka’s Presidential election indicate that Anura Kumara Dissanayake, 55, leader of the National People’s Power (NPP), may become the country’s first leftist head of state, as reported by local media.
If his lead holds, Dissanayake is expected to be sworn in as Sri Lanka’s 9th Executive President later on Sunday, following a formal announcement by the Elections Commission, according to Daily Mirror.
In light of the ongoing vote count, Sri Lanka has extended its curfew until noon on Sunday, according to Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles.
Initially, the curfew was imposed from 10 p.m. on Saturday to 6 a.m. on Sunday.
Authorities took this measure to ensure public safety despite the peaceful situation following the 2024 Presidential election, the police said.
According to the police, the President invoked the curfew using powers granted by the Public Security Act.
Additionally, the government has declared Monday, September 23, 2024, as a special public holiday, as confirmed by Pradeep Yasarathne, Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs.
The much-anticipated election, the first after the island nation’s worst-ever economic crisis, saw a total of 39 candidates in the fray with incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party and Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party being considered the front-runners to the election, the results of which will be keenly watched in the region.
Out of the total population of around 22 million, 17,140,350 Sri Lankans were eligible to exercise their franchise at this election. This included 1.2 million new voters.
On Saturday, polling began at 7 a.m. at 3,421 polling centres across the country and ended at 4 p.m.
–IANS
sd/
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
