Polling booths opened across the island at 7:00 am, with voting set to continue for nine hours under tight security provided by 74,000 police and paramilitary forces, officials said.
Hundreds of voters had lined up outside some of the 12,300 polling booths across the country before they opened, officials said adding strict security was being enforced to ensure a free and fair election.
Police Inspector General N.K. Illangakoon said 63,000 officers were fanning out across the country to guard polling booths and counting centres for Monday’s election, while para-military commandos were on alert in case of trouble.
“We have taken additional measures to ensure that the election is conducted peacefully and there are no incidents in the post-election period too,” Illangakoon said in a statement.
Two party workers were killed and a dozen others wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire at a ruling United National Party (UNP) rally in the capital Colombo two weeks ago. Illangakoon said several arrests have been made. Another two people were killed in two separate shooting incidents elsewhere during the month-long campaign.
Despite the deaths, private election monitors said there had been fewer incidents of violence compared to previous elections over the past two decades.
