• Over 7,400 candidates contesting for a seat in Parliament
• Poll date to be announced on or before Friday; election slated for mid-August
• Election campaign will be highly regulated with COVID-19-related health restrictions in place
• Campaign meetings restricted to three hours with maximum 100 attendees
• Processions prohibited
• MOH of each area to be kept informed of meetings three days in advance

By Chandani Kirinde

The Election Commissioner yesterday issued a 524-page Gazette Notification with the names of candidates, political parties and independent groups contesting the upcoming General Election as well as allocated symbols and preferential numbers.

The Gazette also contains the location of the polling stations for each of the polling districts.

A total of 20 political parties and 34 independent groups are contesting the election.

There are 7452 candidates contesting the Parliamentary Election, slated to be held in mid-August. Of the 7452 candidates vying for a seat in Parliament, 3652 are contesting from political parties and another 3800 from independent groups.

The highest number of candidates – 924 of which 19 will be elected – will contest from the Colombo District, followed by the Gampaha district (693 candidates for 18 seats) while Digamadulla (Ampara) District comes third (540 candidates for seven seats). With the announcement of the preferential numbers, campaigning for the election will officially kick off, even though the date of the election is yet to be announced. Campaigning for this year’s election will be highly regulated due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and subject to health regulations, which have banned processions as well as the large rallies that are the hallmark of electioneering in the country. The health guidelines for conducting the elections amidst the COVID-19 outbreak restricts the number of participants at propaganda meetings to a maximum of 100 persons, with all participants required to wear face masks at all times, and chairs to be arranged in such a manner to maintain one-meter distance with each other while seated. If propaganda meetings are organised, the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) of the area should be informed at least three days in advance, while a spacious venue should be selected so as to maintain the required distance with adequate ventilation. Speakers are required to maintain a one-meter distance from each other. Distribution of handbills is discouraged during meetings; microphones must be disinfected between speakers, and the duration of the meetings must be restricted to three hours to minimise exposure. The person/organisation who organises the meetings are required to keep the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all persons who participate at such meetings. The guidelines also recommend the use of print and electronic media, especially television, for election campaigning, to minimise physical meetings to avoid exposure, and said that processions are not recommended. Election Commission Chairman said that equal opportunity will be given to candidates to publicise their preferential numbers though State-run television and radio stations, as well as through use of loudspeakers in the area they are contesting.

A total of 196 MPs will be elected, while 29 will be appointed from the National List to the 225 Members of Parliament. 

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