Category: Breaking News

Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardane has tendered his resignation to the President.

He has tendered his letter of resignation to President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Mr. Gunawardena has stated in the relevant letter that as the 9th Executive President of Sri Lanka has been elected in the presidential election held on September 21, he will resign from his position in accordance with Article 47 (2) of the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

Mr. Gunawardena has also congratulated the newly elected President of Sri Lanka, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, following his victory in the presidential election last night.

“I respectfully offer my congratulations to you for being elected as the 9th Executive President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in the Presidential election held on 21st September 2024.

“I hope that you as the President will be able to provide welfare to the people by continuing the work we have done to recover and lift the country and the countrymen from the difficult and challenging situation that Sri Lanka has faced,” he said in a message.

The Indian High Commissioner, Santos Jha, met with President-elect Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the National People’s Power office in Battaramulla this evening.

Jha extended greetings from India’s leadership and congratulated Dissanayake on his electoral victory, emphasizing India’s commitment to strengthening ties for the prosperity of both nations, the High Commissioner stated in a post on ‘X’.

This meeting followed Dissanayake’s announcement as president by the Election Commission chairman.

The Air Force has beefed up security at the Katunayake airport since yesterday (21) evening.

It is a grim reminder of how it acted to prevent civilians from gathering near the airport to stop politicians from fleeing the country during ‘Aragalaya’.

However, several politicians have already left the country.

They include former minister Susantha Punchinilame, who departed for Chennai on board Air India flight AI-272 at 2.25 pm yesterday.

UNP’s former general secretary Palitha Range Bandara boarded Bangkok-bound FD-141 of Thai Air Asia at 11.15 pm.

Ittekande Saddatissa Thera left in Cathey-Pacific’s CX-610 flight at 12.50 am today for Hong Kong.

SLPP presidential candidate Namal Rajapaksa’s wife Limini Winoja Weerasinghe and her father Thilakasiri Weerasinghe are due to depart for France tomorrow.

The Chairman of the Election Commission, R.M.A.L. Ratnayake officially announced the counting of second preference of the two leading candidates of the 2024 presidential election, in view of the prevailing situation of the vote results.

Mr. Ratnayake stated that accordingly, all the other candidates except for the National People’s Power (NPP) candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Samagi Jana Sandhanaya candidate Sajith Premadasa will be disqualified from the race.

The Election Commission Chairman announced this during a special media briefing, a short while ago.

Furthermore, he expressed that since no candidate has obtained the required percentage of votes at the first count, the preference for the two leading candidates Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Sajith Premadasa among the other ballot papers will be counted for a final decision.

Under Sri Lanka’s electoral rules, voters can rank second and third-choice candidates. If no candidate receives more than 50 per cent, those second-preference votes are added to the tally of the two leading candidates to determine a winner.

This will be the first presidential run-off in Sri Lanka’s election history.

SJB MP Dr. Harsha De Silva said they campaigned hard for SJB presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa but it is now clear NPP presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake will be the new President.

He said in a messege posted on X that “We campaigned hard for Sajith Premadasa but it was not to be. It is now clear Anura Kumara Dissanayake will be the new President of Sri Lanka.In the spirit of democracy and goodwill, I called and wished my friend the best in the arduous road ahead,” he said.

The voter turnout percentages for the 2024 Presidential Election have been released as polling closed at 4:00 p.m. today.

Several districts recorded significant voter participation.

Notable turnouts include Nuwara-Eliya and Gampaha with 80% each, followed by Polonnaruwa, Kandy, and Hambantota at 78%. Monaragala, Kalutara, Ratnapura, and several others reported turnout around 75%. Meanwhile, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu recorded the lowest turnout at 68%.

Breakdown of the voter turnout by district:

– Gampaha – 80%
– Colombo – 75%
– Batticaloa – 69%
– Jaffna – 65%
– Kurunegala – 75%
– Mullaitivu – 68%
– Kandy – 78%
– Kalutara – 75%
– Galle – 74%
– Vavuniya – 72%
– Mannar – 72%
– Trincomalee – 76%
– Matale – 74%
– Nuwara-Eliya – 80%
– Monaragala – 77%
– Polonnaruwa – 78%
– Ratnapura – 75%
– Ampara – 70%
– Kilinochchi – 72%
– Puttalam – 75%
– Badulla – 73%
– Hambantota – 78%
– Kegalle – 75%
– Anuradhapura – 75%