India among Sri Lanka presidential poll monitors

Election observers from 35 countries, including India, will monitor Sri Lanka's presidential election expected to be held in January next year.

"We have arranged 35 foreign observers to monitor the upcoming presidential election," said an official of the local election monitoring organisation Peoples Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL).

The 35 observers will come from India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Philippines, Nepal, Afghanistan, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan, Colombo Page reported Monday citing PAFFREL official

The foreign monitors will be in Sri Lanka for two weeks observing election-related activities, he said.

In addition to foreign observers, PAFFREL is planning to deploy 13,000 local observers across the island nation to monitor the election.