Sri Lanka’s presidential election could mark a significant milestone, as it might be the first time in history that a single candidate does not secure over 50% of the popular vote.
If so, it could make the outcome of the polls dependent on preferential voting, something that has never happened before on the island.
The Preferential Voting System Explained
Sri Lanka's presidential elections use a preferential voting system, which allows voters to rank their top three candidates in order of preference. This system differs from the "first-past-the-post" approach, where the candidate with the most votes wins. Instead, preferential voting ensures that the president-elect secures a majority (over 50%) of valid votes, making the process more representative.
Here’s how it works.
Voters can either place a ‘X’ around a single candidate, or they can place the number ‘1’, ‘2’, and ‘3’ around their ranked first, second, and third choices.
The Elections Commission of Sri Lanka have said they will reject ballots that place three ‘X’ marks. In Sri Lanka's 2019 Presidential Election, there were a total of 135,452 rejected ballots.
If no candidate secures a majority, the top two will be retained and the ballots of the eliminated candidates will be checked for preferences given to either of the top two candidates, and those votes will be added to their respective tallies.
If the second preference is for one of the two top candidates, it is counted as a vote for that candidate. If the second preference is for an eliminated candidate but the third preference is for one of the two top candidates, it is counted as a vote for that top candidate.
The candidate with the highest number of votes will be declared the winner.
Results
There are approximately 17.1 million eligible voters. Approximately 1 million of them are first-time voters.
Votes will be cast at thousands of polling stations across the country under strict security measures. Once polling concludes, government employees will count the ballots, with oversight provided by officials from the Election Commission, election monitors, and representatives from the candidates.
The voting process is set to begin at 0700 local time ends at 1600 local time, with the counting of votes starting shortly afterward.
Results are expected to filter in throughout the evening and early hours of Sunday morning, with a final winner to be declared alter that day.
The elected candidate is expected to be sworn in as president on Sunday and will proceed to form a new cabinet of ministers.
Candidates
Read more: Who are the candidates standing in Sri Lanka's presidential election?
