To elect Sixth Executive President:

Polls today

*First post war Presidential election

*Voting from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

It is all systems go as the nation elects its sixth Executive President today, the first Presidential poll to be held in post war Sri Lanka. A total of 14,088,500 eligible voters will cast their ballot in 11,098 centres throughout the country. Colombo District has the largest number of voters (1,521,854) and Trincomalee the smallest (241,133). Polling will commence at 7 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. Special arrangements have been made for the displaced persons in the North to cast their votes. Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake has appealed to voters to cast their vote early.

According to the Election Commissioner’s Department there will be nearly one million first time voters at today’s election where the National ID cards or Identity documents stipulated by the Election Commissioner’s Department has been made compulsory for voting. Security has been beefed up throughout the country to ensure law and order at today’s poll with some 68,000 Policemen deployed for duty in one of biggest security exercise in recent times. In addition, 25 Army platoons too will be deployed to assist the police in any contingency. This is in view of the escalating incidents of violence including four deaths during the two month long polls campaign.

Incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa called for elections a full two years before the expiry of his first term. This follows massive victories scored by the UPFA at all Provincial Council elections, barring the North where the poll is yet to held. There are 22 candidates in the fray, 17 representing political parties and five independents. But the battle is between President Rajapaksa contesting from the UPFA under the symbol of the Betel Leaf and Sarath Fonseka of the New Democratic Front under the Swan symbol.

President Rajapaksa is seeking a second term to build on the victory achieved in the three decade long war and take Sri Lanka to lofty heights as a major international player. He has the backing of 18 political parties and many other groups outside Parliament including professionals and artistes. The President has presented a policy document which is an extension of the Mahinda Chintana wherein he has spelled out the future course charted for the country.

A large contingent of the foreign press corps has swooped down on Sri Lanka to cover the election, the first major poll in post war Sri Lanka which is going to receive considerable world attention. Foreign election monitors too yesterday fanned out across the country to oversee voting with special attention to the North. The Met Department forecasts bright weather throughout the country today. All schools and liquor bars will be closed on today and tomorrow (27).