On Saturday, September 21, there will be a presidential election to choose Sri Lanka’s ninth executive president.
Voting will take place to occur at 13,421 polling places on Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., stated to the Election Commission.
The presidential election campaign activities came to an end wednesday 18, at midnight, and the days leading up to the election has been declared as a silent period.
“2024 Presidential Election: Voters’ guidelines released”
All election-related activities are absolutely forbidden during this time, according to the Election Commission, and anyone found to be in violation of the election regulations may be arrested by the police.
According to Commissioner General of Elections Saman Sri Ratnayake, the required preliminary arrangements for the election have already been made.
Regarding what voters need to bring to the polls, he clarified that they can cast their votes using the polling card along with a valid national identity card (NIC), driver’s license, passport, elderly identity card issued by the Department of Social Services, or pensioner’s identity card issued by the Department of Pensions.
He also noted that, the identity card granted to the clergy is equally valid as is the temporary ID card which has been specifically issued for thedisabled community. Voting is also authorised using the temporary ID that the commission issues through the Grama Niladhari officers for individuals who do not have any of these.
Voters can express their choices for candidates of their choosing in this year’s presidential election.
Election Commissioner General Saman Sri Ratnayake outlining the proper voting procedure.
“The ‘X’ symbol can be used by anyone wishing to cast a ballot. The Election Commission will accept the “X” mark, just like in prior elections. Furthermore, he said, “the Arabic numeral ‘1’ is also acceptable for indicating the vote.”
Saman Sri Rathnayake went on to say that people might use the Arabic numerals “1” and “2” to indicate their first and second choices, respectively, if they would like to express their preferences. Voters must use the Arabic numbers “1, 2, and 3” to indicate their three favourites; any other markings would be deemed illegitimate, he stated.
For those who have not yet received their official voting papers, the Postal Department has indicated that post offices will be open on Saturday.
It has been reported by Postmaster General Ruwan Sathkumara that around 300,000 official ballots are remained at post offices throughout the nation.
