Voting for the Southern and Western Provincial Council polls begins at 7.00am today (March 29). Elections Commissioner, Mahinda Deshapriya requests voters to go to polling stations early with a valid ID card.

Voters must either provide their National Identity Card (NIC), Passport, Driving License, Govt Pensioners ID, Elders ID or the Temporary ID issued by the department, when casting their votes.

Over 3,700 candidates from 25 recognized political parties and 15 independent groups are contesting for 155 seats in the two major Provincial Councils at the election.

Over 6,898,418 people in the Southern and Western Provinces will be eligible to vote today.

There are over 1.5 million eligible voters in Colombo district, 1.6 million in the Gampaha district and 900,000 in the Kalutara district.