Sri Lanka will pick a new president in a vote on Saturday that comes months afte...
COLOMBO - Sri Lanka will pick a new president in a vote on Saturday that comes months after Easter Sunday attacks by Islamic State that raised fears over the safety of the tiny island, undermined investor confidence and choked its economy.
Sri Lankan police and election officials load ballot boxes and papers into busses from a distribution center to polling stations, ahead of country's presidential election scheduled on November 16, in Colombo, Sri Lanka Novermber 15, 2019. REUTERS/Dinuka LiyanawatteAbout 16 million citizens are eligible to chose from 35 candidates on the ballot. The candidate who obtains over 50% of the votes will win the presidency.
Those preferences will be used to tally votes for the top two candidates to decide the winner. Such a process has not happened in previous elections because one candidate has always crossed the 50 percent mark.Former Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Housing Minister Sajith Premadasa are the two top candidates in a race involving 35 candidates.
Rajapaksa draws his support from Sinhalese Buddhists, who account for 70% of the country’s 22 million people. Premadasa is seen to have built his base in the countryside and is counting on votes from less affluent Sinhalese, and minority Tamil and Muslim communities.Gotabaya has promised an overhaul of national security to stop any more attacks after the Easter bombings on hotels and churches. Premadasa has offered giveaways such as free housing, school uniforms and sanitary napkins for women.
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