Sri Lanka's Dissanayake and Premadasa head to presidential race runoff

Incumbent President Wickremesinghe and others disqualified, says Election Commission

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, left, and Marxist-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake head to a run-off for Sri Lanka's presidency, the Election Commission announced on Sept. 22. (Photo by Shinya Sawai)

September 22, 2024 18:19 JST

COLOMBO (Reuters) -- Marxist-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa headed to a run-off for Sri Lanka's presidency on Sunday, the election body said, with a second round of counting to determine the winner using preferential votes.

It is the first time in Sri Lanka's history that the presidential race is to be decided by a second round of counting after the top two candidates failed to win the mandatory 50% of votes to be declared winner.