×
App Icon
The Standard e-Paper
Home To Bold Columnists
★★★★ - on Play Store
Download Now

Polls close in first Sri Lanka election since economic collapse

Vocalize Pre-Player Loader

Audio By Vocalize

People wait in a queue to cast their ballots at a polling station during voting in Sri Lanka's presidential election in Colombo on September 21, 2024. Cash-strapped Sri Lanka began voting for its next president September 21 in an effective referendum on an unpopular International Monetary Fund austerity plan enacted after the island nation's unprecedented financial crisis. [AFP]

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka voted for its next president Saturday in an effective referendum on an unpopular International Monetary Fund austerity plan enacted after the island nation's unprecedented financial crisis.

Turnout was at nearly 70 percent an hour before polling stations closed at 4:00 pm (1030 GMT), an election commission official said, citing provisional figures.

Premium Article

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Fact-first reporting that puts you at the heart of the newsroom. Subscribe for full access.
Continue Reading  →
What you get
  • Unlimited access to all premium content
  • Ad-free browsing experience
  • Mobile-optimised reading
  • Weekly newsletters & digests
Pay via
M - PESA
VISA
Airtel Money
Secure Payments Kenya's most trusted newsroom since 1902
Basketball
Kenyan Madina Okot makes history with WNBA draft to Atlanta Dream
Sports
Why Eldoret City Marathon fun run will be special
By AFP 4 hrs ago
Sports
Carrick labels Martinez red card as 'worst decision' ever
By AFP 4 hrs ago
Football
Maradona's birthplace repurposed as soup kitchen for Argentina's hungry