General Election 2024 Concludes Succefully

Earlier reports indicated that voter turnout had surpassed 55 percent in several districts as of 2:00 p.m. today. Police Spokesman DIG Nihal Thalduwa also confirmed that voting was largely peaceful, with no reports of election-related violence. However, three individuals were arrested for illegal election campaigning activities today.

The Police Spokesman added that, other than these minor incidents, the election remained calm. A total of 17,140,354 voters were eligible to vote, with the highest number of registered voters in Gampaha District (1,881,129), followed by Colombo District (1,765,351), and Kurunegala District (1,417,226). The Northern Province had a combined total of 899,268 registered voters.

Voting was held in 13,421 polling stations across the island today. Postal voting for the General Election took place on October 30 and continued on November 1 and 4, with more than 700,000 voters qualifying for early voting.

This election will appoint 225 Members of Parliament: 196 chosen by public vote and 29 through the national list. Each electoral district has a set number of seats; Gampaha District has the highest allocation with 19 seats and a bonus seat, while Trincomalee District has the fewest with four seats.

The district’s leading political party or independent group secures an additional bonus seat, while the remaining members are selected based on the proportion of votes each party or group receives.

The Tenth Parliament’s inaugural session, consisting of these elected members, is scheduled to begin on November 21, as per the President’s Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 2403/13 dated September 24, 2024, according to the Parliamentary Communications Department.