For the presidential elections in Sri Lanka, the European Union has set its election monitors in all the nine provinces of the island, the EU said in a statement on Friday, while also underscoring the significance of fortifying the democratic institutions "through the ballot box".
"This election is crucial to fortify democratic institutions through the ballot box. Hence it will be important that the election is conducted peacefully in a transparent and inclusive manner and that all voters and candidates retain confidence in the process and the outcome,” chief observer Sanchez Amor, a Spaniard and a member of the European Parliament, said.
The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) was launched on August 14 with the arrival of 10 experts while on Thursday, 26 long-term observers were deployed to all nine provinces of the island.
EU's observer teams will engage with voters, election officials, politicians, and civil society representatives across the country. This includes meetings in cities, towns, and villages, to gather a comprehensive understanding of the electoral process.
The elections, which promise to be a closely contested affair, will see 38 candidates, including the incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe, vie for the top spot. The EU has been monitoring Sri Lankan polls since 2000 and will provide recommendations for future electoral reforms in its post-election report.
Notably, this will be the first election held in Sri Lanka since the country plunged into economic crisis, declaring sovereign default in mid-April 2022 - a first since gaining independence from Britain in 1948.
A total of 17.1 million registered voters, out of a total population of 21 million, are eligible to cast their ballots on the island for the September 21 presidential polls.
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