Sri Lanka presidential election goes to historic second count
The Hindu
In a historic first, Sri Lanka’s presidential election went into a second round of counting after no candidate secured over 50% vote needed to be declared the winner.
In a historic first, Sri Lanka's presidential election on Sunday (September 22, 2024) went into a second round of counting after no candidate secured over 50% vote needed to be declared the winner.
The latest results showed Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party's broader front National People’s Power (NPP) had won 39.52% of the votes counted.
Sri Lanka elections result LIVE
Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa of Samagi Jana Balawegaya is in second place with nearly 34.28% of the total vote.
Sri Lankans voted on Saturday (September 21, 2024) to elect a new president in the first election since the economic meltdown in 2022.
Election Commission Chairman R M A L Rathnayake said that Dissanayake and Premadasa have secured maximum votes in the 2024 presidential election.
However, he said that as neither has secured more than 50 per cent vote, the second preference vote will be counted and added to these two candidates.
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