Polling concluded in Sri Lanka on Saturday with no violence or security breaches reported anywhere from all 22 electoral districts in the crucial presidential elections, the island nation’s first since its worst economic meltdown in 2022. The election officials said everyone who had entered the polling station by 4 pm was allowed to vote beyond the deadline. Officials are yet to release the final voting percentage. By 2 pm, more than 60 per cent of the 17 million eligible people had voted, they said.

Observers said voting in the northern district of Jaffna was on a slow trickle by mid-day. A Tamil minority hardline group had discouraged people from voting in the run up to the election. The counting of postal votes commenced immediately after the voting closed at 4 pm, officials said. Postal votes were cast by government employees mostly election officials, military and police. The postal voting was conducted four days earlier.