Presidential vote gets underway in parliament

UPDATE (11.48 AM): The process of counting votes commenced soon after the voting in the parliament to elect a new President concluded a short while ago. 

Out of the 225 members in the House, 223 members have cast their votes while MPs Selvaraja Gajendran and G.G. Ponnambalam abstained from voting.

The voting to elect a new President commenced in the parliament a short while ago. The proceedings in the House got underway at 10.00 a.m. this morning (July 20).

Before voting began, Secretary-General of Parliament Dhammika Dasanayake, who acts as the Returning Officer during the election, showed the empty ballot box to the members and sealed it.

When the voting is in progress, the name of each MP including the Speaker and the Secretary-General is called based on the division list.

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena cast the first vote, followed by Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The MPs have been advised not to bring mobile phones into the chamber while the election is underway.

Prior to the commencement of the secret ballot, the Secretary-General of Parliament read out the guidelines for the election as per the Presidential Elections (Special Provisions) Act No. 2 of 1981.