Journalism of Courage
Seven months after Easter Sunday bombings, Sri Lanka elects a new president
1 / 10The Sri Lankan presidential elections took place Saturday, the results of which are expected to be declared by Monday. (Express Photo: Arun Janardhanan)
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2 / 10Over 15 million Sri Lankans voted Saturday to pick one of 35 candidates — the longest-ever ballot paper in the country. (Express Photo: Arun Janardhanan)
3 / 10All eyes were on Sajith Premadasa of the ruling UNP and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Opposition candidate. (Express Photo: Arun Janardhanan)
4 / 10The decision of the country’s minority Tamils are seen to be crucial in this election — minorities played a significant role in the 2015 polls. (Express Photo: Arun Janardhanan)
5 / 10The polls come seven months after the deadly Easter Sunday bombings left over 250 people dead in the country. Muslims who make up nearly 10 per cent of Sri Lanka's 22 million population, say they have faced hostility ever since the April attacks. (Express Photo: Arun Janardhanan)
6 / 10The main candidates in the fray were Sajith Premadasa, the housing minister in the ruling UNP and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is from the Sri Lanka People's Front and is former wartime defence secretary. (Express Photo: Arun Janardhanan)
7 / 10Anura Kumara Dissanayake from the National People's Power (NPP) coalition is also one of the candidates. (Express Photo: Arun Janardhanan)
8 / 10President Maithripala Sirisina is not contesting the polls. (Express Photo: Arun Janardhanan)
9 / 10For the first time in Sri Lanka, Facebook has developed a feature on its news feed to encourage citizens to vote in the presidential elections, and tell their friend that they did. (Express Photo: Arun Janardhanan)
10 / 10Voting ended at 5 pm on Saturday. The results are expected to be declared by Monday. (Express Photo: Arun Janardhanan)
