Sri Lankans began voting in parliamentary elections Monday, with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa eyeing a comeback as prime minister.
Voting commenced at 7am local time and is scheduled to end 4pm local time, reported Daily Mirror.
"Nearly 200,000 officials will be deployed on election duty while the votes will be counted at the 1,600 centers set up for this purpose," additional elections commissioner U. Amaradasa told Daily Mirror.
Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was voted out of office in January this year, is leading the opposition United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) against incumbent Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe of United National Party (UNP).
"Former President Mahindra Rajapaksa urges all registered voters to think about the country, the nation and the future and cast their ballots in tomorrow's election," Rajapaksa's campaign office said in a press statement issued on Sunday, according to FT Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, who served as health minister in previous Rajapaksa government, threatened to not make Rajapaksa prime minister even if his party wins a majority, according to PTI. Sirisena is heading Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), a leading constituent of UPFA.
"There is a definite trend against former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the type of autocratic government they had. People are for open, good governance, transparency. They also like to see rapid economic progress," Ranil Wickremesinghe said in an interview with The Hindu newspaper.
More than 15 million Sri Lankans are eligible to cast their vote to elect a new government. The results for 225 parliamentary seats are expected on Tuesday.
