COLOMBO (August 9) — Election Commissioner General Saman Sri Ratnayake has warned that the cost of conducting the presidential election is rising significantly with each additional candidate. He stated that each new candidate adds approximately 200 million rupees to the election expenses.
Speaking at a news conference in Colombo, Sri Ratnayake emphasized the financial burden of accommodating more candidates:
“With every additional candidate, the expenses rise by about 200 million rupees. This is public money. While we respect the ideological motivations of those running for office, the increased costs are substantial. Each candidate requires additional ballot papers, and as the number of candidates increases, the length of the ballot papers grows. This results in more ballot boxes and increased logistics costs.“
He noted that beyond the additional financial strain, the logistics of handling larger numbers of candidates include the need for more ballot papers and ballot boxes, which in turn raises costs. Sri Ratnayake also pointed out that in previous elections, candidates outside the two main parties have generally received less than 5% of the votes, questioning the need for such a large number of candidates.
As of today, 27 candidates have deposited their security money for the upcoming presidential election. Among them are Mr. Priyantha Wickramasinghe and Mr. Keerthy Wickramaratne from the Janabala Party and the New Sama Samaj Party, respectively.
Additionally, the period for accepting postal vote applications for the presidential election is set to close at midnight today. The Election Commission had extended the deadline from August 7 to accommodate potential postal delays and requests for more time.
