Sri Lanka presidential election 2024: Five reasons this poll is different

Sri Lanka's presidential election features three main candidates in a close race, marking a shift from traditional two-party dominance.

Polls opened on Saturday (September 21, 2024) in Sri Lanka’s crucial presidential election — the island nation’s first major electoral exercise since its worst economic meltdown in 2022.

Some 17 million people are eligible to vote at over 13,400 polling stations.

Over 200,000 officials have been deployed to conduct the election which will be guarded by 63,000 police personnel. Voting started at 7 a.m. and will continue till 5 p.m. Results are expected by Sunday. Voters will choose among 38 presidential candidates.

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With Sri Lankans heading to polls, here are 5 reasons why this election is different:

All past presidential polls in the island nation had two main candidates and one certain winner. This is the first time three candidates are at the fore. Incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe, Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa, and popular opposition legislator Anura Kumara Dissanayake are in what appears a close race for the country’s top office.

The country’s two traditional parties — the centre-left Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the centre-right United National Party (UNP) — have been decimated over the last few years. Their breakaway formations have detached themselves from the parent parties. The National People’s Power (NPP) Alliance, led by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP or People’s Liberation Front), has emerged as a prominent third front, vowing to shake up the old political establishment.