Lanka votes for new president amid multiple poll-related incidents

Sri Lankans voted on Saturday to choose a successor to President Maithripala Sirisena amid multiple poll-related incidents, including an attack on the minority Muslim voters, in an election that will decide the future of the country that struggles with security challenges after the Easter Sunday bombings and increasing political polarisation.

As many as 12,845 polling stations were set up across the country for 15.9 million voters.

Polls opened at 7 am local time and concluded at 5 pm. Though there is no official confirmation of the actual voter turnout, election officials and poll monitoring groups said the final turnout would exceed 80 per cent.

In the northern districts, the turnout was as large as the previous election held in 2015 when Tamils opted to vote for the incumbent Maithripala Sirisena.

"We have ensured a free and fair election process. This is an achievement we all can be happy with," Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told reporters after conclusion of the polls.

A record 35 candidates were in the fray for the top post with the main contenders being former wartime defence secretary 70-year-old Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the ruling party candidate 52-year-old Sajith Premadasa. Anura Kumara Dissanayake from the National People's Power (NPP) coalition is also a strong candidate.

This poll will make record as the election with the largest number of polling stations and the longest 26-inch ballot paper.

The preliminary results are expected after mid night, officials said. The final results will be announced on Monday.

According to observers, with pro-China Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the fray, India is keeping a close watch on the election results as its outcome will have a bearing on the country's presence in the Indian Ocean region where Beijing is increasingly making its inroads.

China, which has acquired Sri Lanka's Hambantota port in 2017 as a debt swap, has been ramping up its ties with the island nation and expanded its naval presence in the Indian Ocean with an established logistics base in Djibouti