The election to select members for the Tenth Parliament is set to take place today (14th) from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm at 13,421 polling stations across the country, according to Elections Commissioner General Saman Sri Ratnayake.
Based on the 2024 Electoral Roll, 17,140,354 registered voters across 6,476,670 households are eligible to participate in this year’s parliamentary election.
Of the 83 political parties registered with the Election Commission, 49 are contesting this election. A total of 8,361 candidates from political parties and independent groups have submitted nominations, alongside 527 candidates nominated through the national list, bringing the total number of candidates to 8,888.
For this parliamentary election, 196 members will be elected through the public vote, with an additional 29 members appointed via the national list.
This election has designated 107 polling stations exclusively for female voters. Of the total polling stations, 6,147 will operate with a single queue system, while 7,274 will use a dual-queue arrangement.
In a distinctive feature of this election, voters will have their left index finger marked as confirmation of their vote, a change from the previous presidential and Elpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha elections where the little finger and thumb were marked.
The Elections Commissioner General emphasized that it is illegal for anyone within a half-meter radius of the polling station entrance to solicit votes, discourage voting for any candidate, or distribute campaign material, symbols, or displays linked to any candidate.
Postal votes will be counted beginning at approximately 4:15 pm, shortly after the polls close at 4:00 pm. Counting of all other votes is expected to begin around 7:15 pm.
Vote counting is being conducted at 54 centers within 22 electoral districts, utilizing a total of 1,582 counting halls, with 452 dedicated to postal votes. Over 80,000 officials have been deployed to manage the counting process.
The Election Commission anticipates that the first results of the parliamentary elections will be released before midnight.
