Sri Lanka prez poll heads to round 2 of counting for first time in history

In a historic first, Sri Lanka's presidential election on Sunday went into a second round of counting after no candidate secured over 50 per cent vote needed to be declared the winner.

As per the election results, Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party's broader front National People's Power (NPP) topped in the first round of counting by securing 5.63 million votes or 42.31 per cent, followed by Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) with 4.36 million votes or 32.8 per cent of the total polled.

Incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe polled only 2.29 million votes or 17.27 per cent.

Election Commission Chairman R M A L Rathnayake said though Dissanayake and Premadasa have secured maximum votes in the 2024 presidential election, neither of them has secured more than 50 per cent votes, so the second preference votes are being counted and added to these two candidates.

President Wickremesinghe was eliminated in the first ro