Sri Lanka sets expenditure limits for prez election campaign for first time

For the first time, Sri Lanka's upcoming presidential election on September 21 will be subject to campaign finance regulations, following the introduction of the Regulation of Election Expenditure Act in January 2023.

According to a gazette notification dated August 16 and published Monday, each candidate is allowed to spend a maximum of Rs 109 per elector for election campaigning activities, totalling Rs 1,868,298,586 (approx $5 million) per candidate.

The expenditure limit per candidate has been set at 60 per cent of the total amount, while political party secretaries are allowed 40 per cent for their candidate's election campaign activities.

The parties must submit expenditure reports to the Elections Commission within 21 days of the election results being declared, the notification stated.

A record number of 39 candidates are in the fray for the upcoming presidential election.

Incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe, the main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, and the leader of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Anura Kumara Dissanayake are the front runners.