Less than 1 million new Sri Lanka voters registered at presidential poll
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka will see 876,469 newly registered voters for the September 21 presidential poll, as political parties campaign for ‘system change’ targeting first-time voters.
The Election Commission said on Monday (5) that 17,140,354 people have registered to vote at the presidential poll this year, 876,469 higher than the voters registered in the 2020 parliamentary election.
Political analysts say most new voters are tech-savvy youth and have been active in new or social media which might influence their voting pattern.
A campaign for a “system change” has already been started by political parties to win first-time voters.
Since gaining independence in 1948, Sri Lanka has been ruled by two key political groups with different economic policies that have also seen rampant corruption.
However, the 2022 economic crisis with sovereign debt default led to a strong call, especially by the country’s youth and first-time voters, for change in the political system and eradication of corruption.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, and Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peremuna (JVP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake are seen as key candidates in the poll.
There is no credible pre-election poll or survey in Sri Lanka to assess the voters’ pulse before the official results.
-economynext.com
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