Voting begins for Parliamentary polls in Sri Lanka

Colombo: Sri Lankan voters today queued up to cast their votes for a parliamentary election amidst tight security to elect a new government. Around 15 million people are expected to cast their votes in the island nation in over 12,000 polling centres, as media reported.
The parliamentary elections was announced by President Maithripala Sirisena in June after he dissolved parliament just six months after being elected to power. A close battle between the United National Front (UNF) coalition and the opposition United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) will be seen in the elections.

The UNF is led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe while the UPFA has former president Mahinda Rajapakse contesting as its main candidate from the province of Kurunegala.

Rajapakse is looking at making a political comeback and eyeing to be the nation’s new prime minister if the opposition wins majority in the polls. The department of elections said voting results are expected to be announced tomorrow.