Press Trust of India
Colombo, August 17: Sri Lankans today voted in large numbers to elect a new Parliament in polls that will decide the political future of former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa who is eyeing a dramatic comeback as prime minister months after being toppled as president by Maithripala Sirisena. Sri Lankans queued up to elect a 225-member Parliament and voting closed at 4 PM local time in the polls described as most peaceful in recent times by police and monitoring groups. The election promises a close battle between the United National Party (UNP) of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) of President Sirisena.
Steady polling was recorded in many districts as the polls opened at 7 AM but the voting picked up in the afternoon, officials said. However, the election officials expected the turnout to be less than 70 per cent and way below the 81 per cent recorded in the presidential election held in January. Though the polls were largely peaceful, there were some complaints about attempts to bribe voters with offers of alcohol in the central hill plantation areas. “We arrested 32 people today for trying to impersonate and for other minor offenses,” police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe congratulated election officials and police for conducting the most peaceful election in recent times. “We received only 225 complaints during the entire period of campaigning. This is less than what we received per day in the past elections,” Mahinda Deshapriya, the elections chief, said. A 225-member Parliament is to be elected for a 5-year term. Over 15 million people in 22 electoral districts were eligible to vote. The election is the first since the current President Sirisena defeated Rajapaksa in January.
President Sirisena voted in the north central town of Polonnaruwa while Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe exercised his franchise here and expressed confidence over winning the polls. Former president Rajapaksa, 69, voted in his home constituency of Hambantota. “We are winning and I am confident of forming the government,” Rajapaksa said. “My message is to remain calm and peacefully enjoy our victory.” Sirisena has vowed not to make Rajapaksa premier even if his UPFA wins a majority. In the polls, 196 members will be elected from districts while 29 will be appointed based on the national proportion of votes polled by each party. To have a working majority government, 113 seats are needed in the National Assembly.
