2ND LEAD (Correction)

SL Presidential elections to be held on November 17

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 September 2005, 12:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Presidential election is fixed for 17th November, 2005. The announcement was made by the Commissioner of Elections, Dayananda Dissanayake, Monday. The nominations will be accepted before the 7th of October. In the forthcoming elections, 13.3 million Sri Lankans will be eligible to vote, as reported by the elections department. There will be 60,000 policemen on duty, island-wide. The exercise will cost Rs. 90 million.

The Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapakse of the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the Opposition Leader, Ranil Wickremasinghe are the two candidates who have expressed intention to contest on party lines, so far.

The new lankan president will replace Ms Chandrika Bandaranayke Kumaratunga whose second term comes to an end this year. Ms Kumaratunga is the only president who has served two terms, after J.R.Jeyawardene, who was the first president. Ranasinghe Premadhasa who followed JR Jeyawardene in 1989 was assassinated in 1993 and Dingiri Banda Wijetunge served only for two years.